NASA Mission Control

Citizen science · private by design

What can you do for NASA tonight?

Turn your location and the live sky into a ranked, evidence-backed mission briefing—computed entirely in your browser.

Build tonight’s briefing See the mission channels

Console ready No account · no tracking · no coordinates transmitted

Mission channels
03
Coordinate retention
0
Production cross-origin calls
0
Backend services
0

Three ways to contribute

Your observing desk

Mission Control checks only what it can support with published evidence. Every route ends at a real contribution workflow.

01

Naked-eye observation

Report an aurora

Compare current geomagnetic evidence with your magnetic latitude and local darkness before heading outside.

We check
Kp band · twilight · freshness
Handoff
Aurorasaurus
02

Small-telescope photometry

Measure an exoplanet transit

Find bright-host transits that fit tonight’s darkness, altitude, baseline, and timing-uncertainty gates.

We check
Ephemeris · altitude · uncertainty
Handoff
NASA Exoplanet Watch
03

Eyewitness report

Document a fireball

Capture the time, direction, colour, fragmentation, and sound while the memory is still fresh.

We check
CNEOS context · distance
Handoff
American Meteor Society

Local observing conditions

Build your briefing

Share your position with this page—or preview another sky. The calculation and ranking happen on this device.

Observer input

Set your coordinates

Ready
or enter coordinates

−90 to 90 · north is positive

−180 to 180 · east is positive

Preview a sky

Transparent by construction

Evidence before enthusiasm

Mission Control downgrades a claim when a feed is stale, a field is missing, or an observing gate fails. Unknown never quietly becomes “all clear.”

Computed locally

Sunlight, target altitude, magnetic latitude, and ranking all run in this tab.

Every gate is named

Cards explain what passed, what failed, and what remains uncertain.

Real handoffs

Actions lead to established NASA or partner contribution workflows.

Fleet telemetry

Source health

Checked when you run a briefing

  • Space-Weather WatchAwaiting a briefing Standby
  • New Worlds transit catalogueAwaiting a briefing Standby
  • Planetary-Defense fireballsAwaiting a briefing Standby
Thresholds, limitations, and astronomy engine

Astronomy is computed in your browser with Astronomy Engine 2.1.19. Transit photometry requires the sun to be at least 12° below the horizon; aurora uses 6°. Aurora bands are plausibility estimates, not a local forecast: cloud, light pollution, and the direction of the auroral oval remain unknown.