“If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.”

The words Dr. Andrew Westphal’s father lived by, and which guide Dr. Westphal today.

0:00 Welcome and reflections from Sarah Kirn and Marc Kuchner
6:36 Andrew Westphal shares his story of Stardust@Home, the very first NASA-sponsored citizen science project, and the lessons that he learned as he worked with volunteers to create and refine that project.

Launching in August of 2006, Stardust@home was one of the first NASA research projects to engage citizens in space discovery. Participants were tasked with visually inspecting magnified images of aerogel that had been flown through space to collect interstellar dust particles. Through six project phases, Stardust@home has engaged thousands of “Dusters” and found many of these precious particles. Dr. Westphal will reflect on the first 14 years of the project and look ahead to the future of collaborative interstellar particle research.