International Astronomical Search Collaboration

What International Astronomical Search Collaboration does

The International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) is a citizen science nonprofit founded in October 2006 by Dr. J. Patrick Miller that provides free access to professional-grade astronomical data and specialized detection software so that teams of students, teachers, and amateur astronomers worldwide can discover and catalog asteroids. IASC's primary offering is a series of month-long Asteroid Search Campaigns in which teams analyze image sets from professional survey telescopes — Pan-STARRS (University of Hawaii) and the Catalina Sky Survey (University of Arizona) — using the Astrometrica software developed by Herbert Raab and tailored for IASC. Detections are submitted as MPC (Minor Planet Center) reports and verified through the official IAU cataloging process, with 98 of the more than 7,000 lifetime discoveries to date having been numbered and entered into the world's official minor bodies catalog. The program operates entirely at no cost to participants.

IASC's product surface extends beyond the campaign core to include Practice Image Sets and an updated Quick Start Guide for onboarding new participants, a volunteer Trainer Network providing multilingual support, a Hall of Fame recognizing numbered discoveries, and a Faint Detections tracking system for citizen scientist detections missed by automated survey processing. Operational support is provided through a largely volunteer staff of approximately 90 individuals, hosted at Cisco Community College in Abilene, Texas (with the Director based at nearby Hardin-Simmons University), and distributed globally through an international collaborator network across 100+ countries that coordinates regional campaigns (All Bangladesh, All Iran, MCTI Brasil, Pan-Africa, etc.). IASC distributes its service as a free, self-serve online platform with email-based registration, relying on partner organization referrals and conference presence as primary top-of-funnel channels.

IASC generates no commercial revenue and operates as a freemium nonprofit model, sustaining operations through institutional partnerships with NASA, Hardin-Simmons University, Cisco Community College, the Global Hands-On Universe Association, and data providers Pan-STARRS and the Catalina Sky Survey. Strategic significance is anchored in scientific output (numbered asteroid discoveries, IAU recognition) and educational reach (10,000+ teams annually, 100+ countries), rather than commercial monetization.

Name

International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Legal name

International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Website

https://iasc.cosmosearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) is a free citizen science nonprofit founded in 2006 that provides professional asteroid detection software and survey telescope data to teams of students, teachers, and amateur astronomers across 100+ countries, enabling them to make IAU-recognized asteroid discoveries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Abilene

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Citizen Science Program (Free Service): IASC provides its citizen science program at no cost to participants. The organization operates with volunteer staff and partnerships with educational and research institutions.
2. Institutional Partnerships and Support: IASC relies on volunteer staff and partnerships with universities and research institutions (Hardin-Simmons University, NASA, Pan-STARRS, etc.) for operational support and data provision.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IASC is a citizen science program that runs month-long asteroid search campaigns in which teams of citizen scientists use the specialized Astrometrica software to analyze astronomical image sets supplied by professional survey telescopes (Pan-STARRS and Catalina Sky Survey). Participants detect moving objects, prepare Minor Planet Center reports, and submit observations through the IASC website, enabling original Main Belt asteroid and near-Earth object discoveries that can be numbered and named by the IAU. The program is delivered at no cost to participants.

Product overview

IASC operates a citizen science platform centered on asteroid search campaigns—a structured program where volunteer participants worldwide analyze telescope images to discover and measure asteroids. The primary offering is the Asteroid Search Campaign, delivered through the specialized Astrometrica software (with separate versions for Windows 10/11 and Windows XP/7/8). Participants receive training via the Quick Start Guide and Practice Image Sets before joining campaigns. The platform also maintains a Trainer Network of volunteer experts, a Hall of Fame recognizing numbered discoveries, and a Faint Detections feature for tracking significant finds. All services are provided at no cost to participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Asteroid Search Campaigns Month-long citizen science events in which teams of at least two members analyze astronomical image sets from Pan-STARRS and Catalina Sky Survey to detect asteroids, prepare MPC reports, and submit observations. Campaigns include the International Asteroid Search Campaign, themed regional campaigns (All Bangladesh, All Iran, MCTI, Pan-Africa, STEM & Space, CB Devgun Memorial, etc.), and special campaigns for experienced teams.
• Astrometrica Software Specialized astronomical image-analysis software developed by Herbert Raab and tailored for IASC, used by participants to compare astrometric images, identify moving objects, measure detections, and prepare Minor Planet Center format reports for submission through the IASC website.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000 teams from 100+ countries participate annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• Pan-STARRS (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvides image sets for IASC asteroid search campaigns. The Pan-STARRS 1.8-m telescope located on Haleakalā is used to take images along the ecliptic where most asteroids are found. This is the primary data source for general asteroid search campaigns.
• Catalina Sky Survey (University of Arizona)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvides specialized image sets for experienced IASC teams. CSS telescopes are used for special campaigns with experienced citizen science groups.
• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA is a major collaborator providing recognition and promotion through NASA's Citizen Science and NASA Solve initiatives. Links to NASA's citizen science opportunities are featured on the IASC homepage.
• Hardin-Simmons UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for IASC Director Dr. J. Patrick Miller. Provides academic oversight and support for the citizen science program.
• Astronomers Without BordersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization promoting astronomy education and outreach worldwide, collaborating with IASC on citizen science initiatives.
• Global Hands-On Universe AssociationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerIASC Director Dr. Miller serves as Vice-President of the Permanent Council of GHOU. Dr. Carlton Pennypacker serves as President of the Executive Council. GHOU provides framework for international astronomy education collaboration.
• Astrometrica (Herbert Raab)coreTechnology or IntegrationHerbert Raab developed the Astrometrica software used by all IASC participants to analyze images and prepare asteroid detection reports. The software is specifically tailored for IASC campaigns.
• Astronomical Research Institute (ARI)majorTechnology or IntegrationARI's telescopes (24in, 32in, and 50in) have been used for follow-up observations of IASC citizen scientist asteroid discoveries. Dr. Robert E. Holmes serves as Director of ARI and IASC Astronomer.
• Minor Planet Center (Harvard)coreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial IAU organization that receives and catalogs asteroid observations from IASC. Verifies provisional detections and maintains the official minor bodies catalog where numbered asteroids are recorded.
• Cisco Community College (Abilene, TX)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for IASC. The organization is based at Cisco Community College, and all emails are directed to [email protected].

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zooniverse: Zooniverse is the largest general-purpose online citizen-science platform, hosting multiple astronomy projects including galaxy classification. It directly competes with IASC in providing web-based astronomy research experiences to global volunteers.
• Hands-On Universe: Hands-On Universe (HOU) is a global educational-astronomy program co-founded by Dr. Carlton Pennypacker, who serves as IASC's Professional Advisor. The two organizations share leadership and a closely overlapping citizen-science mission.
• Faulkes Telescope Project: Faulkes Telescope Project provides free professional-telescope access to schools and amateur astronomers, sharing IASC's educational astronomy research mission and reliance on professional observatory infrastructure.
• Stardust@Home: Stardust@Home is a UC Berkeley citizen-science project engaging volunteers in analyzing microscope imagery of aerogel to find stardust particles. It is comparable to IASC in delivering structured image-analysis tasks for distributed volunteers in a space-research context.
• Galaxy Zoo: Galaxy Zoo is the original large-scale online astronomy citizen-science project, engaging volunteers in visual classification of galaxy images. It is comparable to IASC as both pioneered structured, web-delivered astronomy research for non-specialists.
• CosmoQuest: CosmoQuest is a citizen-science platform offering astronomy and space-science projects (e.g., mapping the Moon and Venus). It is directly comparable to IASC in delivering structured astronomy research opportunities to amateur scientists and students.

Emerging players

• Globe at Night: Globe at Night is a citizen-science program engaging volunteers in measuring light pollution through naked-eye observations. It overlaps with IASC's amateur-astronomy audience but focuses on light pollution rather than asteroid detection.
• Slooh: Slooh provides online telescope control and image capture for schools and amateur astronomers with a similar educational mission to IASC, though its live-control model differs from IASC's pre-collected image campaign approach.

Broad incumbents

• NASA Citizen Science: NASA's Citizen Science portal aggregates and promotes multiple citizen-science projects across domains, and lists IASC on its homepage. It functions both as a strategic partner and a broader ecosystem incumbent that frames the category.
• Astronomical Society of the Pacific: The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a long-established astronomy-education nonprofit developing and distributing astronomy resources. It overlaps with IASC in serving the amateur-astronomy educator community but operates as a broader membership organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-astronomical-search-collaboration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Astronomical Search Collaboration