The First Decade of Project Discovery

Scientific capsuleers,

About a decade ago, on 8 March 2016, a meaningful step was taken on CCP Games’ mission to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life.

The question was posed whether EVE pilots could contribute to real science in meaningful ways, at a scale that made a difference in important research.

Your answer was definitive.

Nearly a billion classifications. 471 years of cumulative analysis time. Over 1.9 million participants across three phases of research spanning cellular biology, astrophysics, and cancer immunology.

That’s more than a footnote in the history of New Eden. It’s a body of work that has changed the way scientists think about what citizen science can achieve.

What You Built

In 2016, Project Discovery helped map protein locations inside human cells. Those classifications contributed to research published in Nature Biotechnology, one of the most respected scientific journals in the world.

In 2017, the attention shifted to the stars, analyzing light curves from real telescopes to identify exoplanet transit events. This was a collaboration with the team of Nobel Laureate Michel Mayor, who discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star.

2020 introduced the most complex challenge yet: classifying immune cell data to support cancer research. You’ve been at it ever since, and Phase IV expanded that work into new cancer datasets.

What it Means

Project Discovery has received a Webby Award, a Falling Walls Engage prize, an honorary mention in the European Union Prize for Citizen Science, and recognition from the IGDA.

Most importantly, though, nearly 29,000 of you have been there for all three phases, contributing to real-world science for a decade. This has amounted to contributions to science that would have taken a single person 471 years of continuous work to achieve, bridging huge gaps in funding and researchers’ time.

Thank you for your service, capsuleers.

Commemorating a Decade

To celebrate the first decade of Project Discovery, every pilot who has participated will receive a special anniversary SKIN in recognition of their contribution. It’s a small token in comparison to your contribution, but it carries the weight of everything this project means. The skins will be available on 13 March.

Fanfest Celebration

A full decade of research deserves a proper celebration. Project Discovery will have a dedicated presence at EVE Fanfest, where you can explore all its achievements and get a glimpse of what comes next.

Fanfest tickets are almost sold out. Don’t miss it