MosquitoTracker

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  GLOBE Observer Lite brings citizen science to everyone. Under 200KB initial load, 6× faster performance, and full offline capability.

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  A simple four-step workflow—find, photograph, identify, and submit—designed to make scientific data collection easy and accessible.

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  Offline-first design, smart image compression, and edge delivery enable reliable participation in science from low-bandwidth/remote regions.

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  A lightweight, mobile platform empowering citizens worldwide to collect environmental data that supports NASA led scientific research.

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  Record real world environmental data, add photos and details, and submit observations to support NASA science.

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  See observations that failed to upload and easily retry or delete them when you’re back online.

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  Review and manage all of your submitted observations, including their status and details.

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  GLOBE Observer Lite performance comparison showing faster loads and perfect Lighthouse scores.

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  Protocol selection dashboard for contributing environmental and mosquito habitat observations.

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  Global mosquito habitat map using NASA satellite data and citizen science to highlight disease risk zones.

Inspiration

Mosquito Tracker came from a simple problem we kept seeing in citizen science: many tools assume reliable, fast internet, which quietly excludes huge parts of the world and even many real field settings. The GLOBE protocols are scientifically valuable, but access barriers prevent truly global participation. We wanted to remove those barriers without changing any of the science.

What it does

Mosquito Tracker is an ultra-light, low-bandwidth version of the GLOBE Observer experience built for places with slow, unreliable, or no connectivity. The prototype includes a fast landing page, a judge-focused side-by-side comparison demo, and preview observation flows (including Mosquito Habitat Mapper) that mirror the original app’s intent. It also demonstrates real performance tactics, such as client-side WebP compression, offline-first caching with a “sync later” queue concept, and a live GLOBE API sample to show real data can be accessed efficiently.

How we built it

We built it with Astro to keep the default experience near-zero JavaScript, then used Svelte islands only where interactivity was necessary (compression, offline indicators, API-driven lists). We added client-side image compression so uploads shrink before hitting the network, and we implemented service worker caching plus IndexedDB utilities to support offline capture and queued sync. A minimal NASA-aligned design system keeps the UI clean without heavy dependencies.

Challenges we ran into

The hardest part was keeping the experience genuinely lightweight while still proving real functionality. Interactivity adds overhead quickly without careful constraints. Offline-first was also more than “cache a page”, as we had to design clear user feedback for pending uploads and connectivity states without having a full backend implemented yet.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We shipped a working prototype that judges can demo immediately, including a comparison page that makes the impact obvious under Slow 3G throttling. We implemented client-side WebP compression with before/after stats, integrated a live GLOBE API sample, and laid real offline-first groundwork with service worker caching, an offline badge, and a queued “sync later” concept. Most importantly, we did it without turning the project into a heavy web app.

What we learned

Offline-first UX is mostly about trust and clarity, and users need to know their work won’t be lost. We also learned that client-side compression and a minimal-JS architecture create immediate wins on slow networks and naturally push the product toward simpler, more resilient workflows.

What's next for Mosquito Tracker

Next, we’ll complete one full end-to-end protocol flow (starting with Mosquito Habitat Mapper), including offline capture, queued submission, and reliable background sync with clear statuses. We’ll add a lightweight backend and upload endpoints, introduce progressive image variants and responsive delivery, and publish real measurements (transfer size, LCP/TTFB, Lighthouse) so performance claims are fully backed by data. After that, we’ll expand the same low-bandwidth architecture to additional GLOBE protocols.

Built With

• astro
• css
• html
• javascript
• svelte
• typescript