🌍 AirSense - Predicting Cleaner, Safer Skies

Built for the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025: “From EarthData to Action - Cloud Computing with Earth Observation Data” 🚀

AirSense is a web-based air quality forecasting platform designed for the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025. It combines real-time air quality, weather, and forecast data to help users stay informed about pollution levels and protect public health. Inspired by NASA’s TEMPO mission, AirSense demonstrates how Earth observation + cloud computing can work together to build cleaner, safer skies.

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📡 Live Demo

🌐 Live Link: airsenseapp.org

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🎥 Demo Video

🎬 Watch the Demo:

Showing live AQI monitoring, forecast trends, and city-level analytics powered by OpenWeather & AWS Lambda.

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🖼️ Screenshots

Main Page	City Dashboard

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🚀 Tech Stack

Frontend

• React + TypeScript + Vite
• Recharts (for visualization)
• Axios + Framer Motion

Backend

• Spring Boot (Java 21)
• RESTful API + Swagger Docs
• Caffeine in-memory caching

Infrastructure

• AWS Lambda (serverless backend)
• AWS S3 + CloudFront (secure frontend hosting + HTTPS via ACM)
• Docker for local development

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🌦️ Features

Category	Description
🌬 Live AQI Data	Retrieves current air quality using OpenWeather & ground station data.
🔮 4-Day Forecast	Predictive hourly air quality forecasting based on real meteorological data.
☁️ Serverless Cloud Architecture	Built using AWS Lambda, CloudFront, and S3 for scalable cloud computing.
⚙️ Smart Caching	Reduces redundant API calls with Spring Caffeine caching.
💡 Interactive Visualizations	Dynamic charts for pollution trends and forecasts.
🛰️ Aligned with NASA TEMPO Goals	Encourages clean-air decision-making via public data integration.

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🧠 Challenge Alignment — NASA “From EarthData to Action”

AirSense directly addresses NASA’s Challenge #15: From EarthData to Action by demonstrating: ✅ Cloud Computing Integration: Runs serverlessly on AWS (Lambda + CloudFront), scaling automatically.

✅ Earth Observation Data Fusion: Uses OpenWeather (ground + satellite fusion) for air quality + forecast data.

✅ Public Health Awareness: Provides easy-to-understand AQI visuals and personalized city-based results.

✅ Scalable Web Architecture: Delivers near real-time environmental data with responsive visualizations.

🛰️ Inspired by NASA’s TEMPO satellite mission — monitoring North American air pollution from space.

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🧱 Architecture

Frontend (React + Vite + CloudFront)
        │
        ▼
Backend API (Spring Boot → AWS Lambda)
        │
        ├── OpenWeather API (Live AQI + Forecast)
        ├── Optional OpenAQ integration
        └── Caffeine Cache

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🛠️ Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node ≥ 18
• Java 21
• Docker Desktop
• Maven or Gradle

Environment Setup

Create a .env file in the root directory:

BACKEND_PORT=8080
FRONTEND_PORT=5173
OPENWEATHER_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Run with Docker

docker compose up --build

Then open:

• Frontend → http://localhost:5173
• Backend → http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html

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🧩 API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/aqi?city={name}	GET	Current AQI data for a city
/api/forecast?city={name}	GET	4-day air quality forecast
/swagger-ui/index.html	—	API documentation

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📈 Example Output

{
  "city": "Montreal",
  "pm25": 12.4,
  "aqi": 45,
  "aqi_category": "Good",
  "unit": "µg/m³",
  "observedUtc": "2025-10-09T12:00:00Z",
  "health_advice": "Air quality is satisfactory."
}

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☁️ AWS Deployment Overview

• Backend: Packaged JAR → AWS Lambda (serverless runtime).
• Frontend: React build → hosted on S3 + distributed via CloudFront (HTTPS).
• SSL: Managed by AWS Certificate Manager.
• Domain: Optional Route 53 for https://airsenseapp.org.

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🔒 Environment Variables

Variable	Description
OPENWEATHER_API_KEY	OpenWeather API token
SERVER_PORT	Backend port (default 8080)
CACHE_TTL_MINUTES	Optional cache duration

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🏆 Hackathon Context

Challenge: NASA Space Apps 2025 - From EarthData to Action: Predicting Cleaner, Safer Skies Focus: Air quality forecasting using cloud computing + Earth observation data. Goal: Use cloud-based scalability to transform open-source air pollution data into actionable public health insights.