CITIZEN Science -- with Kirby Runyon!

Planetary geologist Kirby Runyon from the Planetary Science Institute needs volunteers to map ancient impact melt flows on the moon from their home computers. What the if this went mainstream? Imagine science bars replacing sports bars, Twitch streams of competitive boulder counting, and reality TV dating shows where the best crater mapper wins. We explore a world where professional citizen scientists have mouse sponsorships and your doom-scrolling feed is full of discoveries instead of drama. Plus: the science of molten rock waterfalls and mountains that grew in minutes. Ready to become a citizen scientist? Here's how to get started: Join Kirby's project and start mapping boulders, craters, and ancient lava flows on the moon from your couch — mappers.psi.edu Explore more citizen science projects where you can help map Mars, Mercury, and beyond, plus space podcasts hosted by Kirby's colleague Pamela Gay — cosmoquest.org Learn about the Planetary Science Institute, the nonprofit where Kirby conducts NASA-funded research on Solar System exploration — psi.edu Become a Planetary Partner and support Kirby and his colleagues as they advance world-class research and grassroots science outreach — psi.edu/planetary-partners -------- REVIEW the show: itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1250517051?mt=2&ls=1

You can listen to CITIZEN Science -- with Kirby Runyon! online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

CITIZEN Science -- with Kirby Runyon! is an episode from What The If? by What The If?.

This episode is 00:47:05 long.

This episode was published on Jan 16, 2026.

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