Morphology Analysis Project for Participatory Exploration and Research (MAPPER), Citizen Science

NASA Photo credit: Donnie Reid

Space

Morphology Analysis Project for Participatory Exploration and Research (MAPPER)

The Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) launched a citizen science Web site called Morphology Analysis Project for Participatory Exploration and Research (MAPPER) in conjunction with the 2011 field season.
The PLRP has been investigating the underwater environment of Pavilion and Kelly Lake in British Columbia, Canada with DeepWorker submersible vehicles since 2008.

Now with MAPPER, citizen scientists can work side-by-side with NASA scientists to explore the bottom of these lakes from the perspective of a DeepWorker pilot. The PLRP team makes use of DeepWorker subs to explore and document freshwater carbonate formations known as microbialites that thrive in Pavilion and Kelly Lake. Many scientists believe that a better understanding of how and where these rare microbialite formations develop will lead to deeper insights into where signs of life may be found on Mars and beyond.

Project Details

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: Margarita Marinova
SCIENTIST AFFILIATION: NASA Ames Research Center
DATES: Ongoing
PROJECT TYPE: Observation
COST: Free
GRADE LEVEL: All Ages
TIME COMMITMENT: Variable
HOW TO JOIN:
Sign up for an account on the MAPPER home page. After logging in, click "Tag Photos" to get started. After a quick tutorial and quiz, you'll be able to tag photos and help NASA learn more about where to look for life on Mars.

See more projects in Free, Observation, All Ages.

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1. Quinn the Eskimo 07:15 PM 10/8/11

Oh this has the whiff of Grant Money all over it.

Life on Mars based on life here on Earth. Eureka! I've found it.

Earmarks for all.

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2. nick_w 01:30 PM 12/7/11

Hi Quinn, I'm the developer of mapper. I invite you learn more about the Pavilion Lake Research Project (pavilionlake.com), the project that mapper is contributing to. The Pavilion Lake Research Project is part of a larger NASA and Canadian Space Agency-backed initiative to learn more about the strategies that will be required to explore safely and effectively on astroids, the moon and Mars by exploring remote and extreme environments on Earth. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks!
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What is Citizen Science?

Research often involves teams of scientists collaborating across continents. Now, using the power of the Internet, non-specialists are participating, too. Citizen Science falls into many categories. A pioneering project was SETI@Home, which has harnessed the idle computing time of millions of participants in the search for extraterrestrial life. Citizen scientists also act as volunteer classifiers of heavenly objects, such as in Galaxy Zoo. They make observations of the natural world, as in The Great Sunflower Project. And they even solve puzzles to design proteins, such as FoldIt. We'll add projects regularly—and please tell us about others you like as well.