🚀 NASA Space Biology Research Agent
AI-Powered Research Assistant using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
📌 Problem Statement
Space biology research is scattered across multiple scientific databases, making it time-consuming for researchers and students to:
Search relevant research papers
Understand complex scientific abstracts
Get summarized insights quickly
Compare findings across multiple sources
Traditional search engines return raw papers but do not provide contextual summaries or intelligent analysis.
This project aims to build an AI-powered research assistant that retrieves scientific data from trusted sources and generates structured, summarized insights using modern LLM-based reasoning.
🎯 Objective
To develop a multi-source AI research assistant that:
Retrieves scientific papers from NASA ADS
Fetches contextual information from web search
Uses a Large Language Model for reasoning
Generates structured, easy-to-understand summaries
Reduces literature review time
🏗️ System Architecture User │ ▼ FastAPI Backend │ ▼ LangChain Agent │ ├── NASA ADS API (Scientific Papers) ├── DuckDuckGo Search (Web Context) │ ▼ Groq LLM (Reasoning + Summarization) │ ▼ Structured Research Response │ ▼ Web Interface Architecture Flow
User submits a research question.
FastAPI receives the request.
LangChain Agent activates tools.
NASA ADS API retrieves scientific abstracts.
DuckDuckGo fetches additional context.
Groq LLM processes retrieved data.
Structured summary is returned to user.
🛠️ Tools & Technologies Used Backend
FastAPI
Uvicorn
Python 3.10+
AI & Agent Framework
LangChain
LangChain Groq Integration
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
APIs
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
DuckDuckGo Search API
Groq LLM API
Frontend
HTML
CSS
JavaScript (Static UI)
DevOps
Docker
Environment Variables (.env)
🔍 Data Sources
- NASA ADS
Primary scientific source for:
Peer-reviewed space biology papers
Microgravity research
Radiation exposure studies
ISS experiments
- DuckDuckGo Search
Used for:
Recent updates
Public scientific explanations
Additional context
💡 Key Features
Multi-tool AI Agent
Scientific literature retrieval
Real-time web search integration
Structured research summaries
Markdown formatted responses
REST API endpoint (/ask)
Health check endpoint (/health)
📊 Results
Example Query:
How does microgravity affect human bone density?
System Output:
Retrieves NASA research abstracts
Extracts key findings
Summarizes physiological effects
Provides structured explanation
Observed Benefits:
Faster literature review
Reduced manual paper scanning
Scientifically grounded responses
Lower hallucination risk due to RAG approach
📷 Screenshots
(Add screenshots here after running the project)
Example sections to include:
Home Page UI
Sample Question Input
Generated Research Response
Terminal showing API running