How NASA Engineers AI Prompts for Expert-Level Results

NASA Level Prompts: How Space Scientists Make AI Super Smart

When NASA scientists have a big problem to solve, they don't just guess at answers. They use special step-by-step methods that work every time. Now, these same smart techniques are being used to talk to AI computers in amazing new ways. We call these "NASA level prompts," and they're way more powerful than just asking ChatGPT a simple question. We wrote about NASA’s MEGA prompts back in Oct 2023, here» link

Think of it this way: regular AI prompts are like asking someone "What's for lunch?" But NASA level prompts are like giving someone a complete recipe, cooking instructions, and telling them exactly what the final meal should taste like. That's the difference between getting a basic answer and getting expert-level help.

NASA created a special AI helper called BIDARA that shows us exactly how this works. BIDARA isn't just any chatbot - it's like having a team of the world's best scientists all rolled into one computer program. But the real magic isn't in the AI itself. It's in how NASA teaches people to give it instructions.

Why Regular AI Prompts Don't Work for Big Problems

Most people use AI like this: they type in a question and hope for a good answer. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's kind of like asking a really smart person for help, but not telling them what you actually need.

NASA level prompts are totally different. They work like detailed plans that guide the AI through the same thinking process that real experts use. Instead of just asking for information, these prompts teach the AI to think like a scientist, engineer, or researcher.

Here's what makes NASA level prompts so special: they break big, complicated problems into smaller pieces that are easier to solve. Just like how NASA breaks down the huge challenge of getting to Mars into thousands of smaller steps, these prompts help AI tackle complex questions by working through them systematically.

What Makes BIDARA So Amazing

NASA's BIDARA system was built to solve a specific type of problem: learning from nature to create better technology. This field is called biomimicry, which basically means copying the smart things that plants and animals do.

For example, if you wanted to make a better airplane, you might study how birds fly. If you wanted to create stronger building materials, you might look at how spider webs are made. BIDARA helps people do this kind of research in a really organized way.

But here's the cool part: BIDARA knows about biology, engineering, design, environmental science, and many other subjects all at the same time. It can connect ideas from different fields in ways that human experts might miss. This happens because of the special way NASA designed its instructions.

The Five Steps That Make NASA Prompts Work

NASA level prompts follow a specific five-step process. Each step builds on the one before it, creating a complete system for solving problems. Let's break down how this works:

Step 1: Define - Figure Out What You Really Need

The first step might seem obvious, but it's actually the hardest part. Most people think they know what their problem is, but they're often wrong. NASA level prompts force you to really understand what you're trying to solve before you start looking for answers.

BIDARA guides users through four important questions:

What impact do you want to have? This isn't about what you want to build - it's about what you want your solution to actually do. For example, instead of saying "I want to make a better bicycle light," you might say "I want to help cyclists be safer at night."

What's the situation around your problem? This means thinking about who's involved, where the problem happens, what resources you have, and other important details. A solution that works in one place might not work somewhere else.

How does your problem fit into the bigger picture? Nothing exists by itself. Every problem is connected to other systems and other problems. Understanding these connections often shows you new ways to solve things.

Turn your challenge into a question: The best design questions start with "How might we..." This way of asking leaves room for creative solutions you might not have thought of.

This first step stops people from jumping to conclusions too quickly. It's like making sure you're climbing the right mountain before you start hiking.

Step 2: Biologize - Ask Nature for Advice

The second step is where NASA level prompts get really creative. Instead of thinking about your problem in technical terms, you learn to think about it like a biologist would.

Let's say you want to make something that's really strong but also lightweight. Instead of just thinking about metals and materials, you ask "How does nature make things that are strong and light?" Suddenly, you're thinking about bird bones, which are hollow but incredibly strong. Or bamboo, which is flexible but tough. Or honeycomb patterns, which use very little material but can support a lot of weight.

BIDARA teaches people to turn engineering questions into nature questions. This opens up possibilities that most people would never think of. The prompt even tells you to think about opposite functions too. If you're trying to figure out how nature keeps water in, you should also ask how nature keeps water out, because the same mechanisms might work for both.

This step shows how NASA level prompts don't just find answers - they help you ask better questions.

Step 3: Discover - Do Research Like a Scientist

Regular AI prompts often give you quick, shallow answers. NASA level prompts make you dig deeper and look at lots of different examples. This step is all about collecting as much information as possible from as many different sources as you can find.

BIDARA tells users to look at different species, different environments, and different sizes of solutions. If you're studying how nature makes strong materials, you might look at everything from tiny insect shells to massive tree trunks to see what they have in common.

This reflects how NASA actually does research. They don't just test one rocket design - they test dozens of different approaches to make sure they find the best solution. NASA level prompts apply this same thorough approach to AI research.

The goal isn't just to find one good example from nature. It's to find patterns and similarities across many different examples. This gives you a much deeper understanding of how natural solutions actually work.

Step 4: Abstract - Translate Nature's Lessons

Finding cool examples in nature is just the beginning. The fourth step is where you figure out exactly how those natural solutions work, and then translate them into language that engineers and designers can actually use.

This is harder than it sounds. You can't just say "make it like a bird wing." You need to understand exactly what makes a bird wing work, and then describe those principles in terms that apply to your specific problem.

BIDARA gives a great example of this translation process. Scientists noticed that polar bear fur isn't actually white - it's made of clear, hollow tubes that channel sunlight down to the bear's skin to keep it warm. A dense layer of smaller fibers underneath prevents that heat from escaping.

But if you want to use this idea to design something, you need to translate it. So instead of talking about "fur," you talk about "a covering with translucent tubes that transmit heat from sunlight to warm the inner surface, while a dense covering of smaller diameter fibers prevents warmth from radiating back out."

This translation step is crucial because it bridges the gap between observing something cool in nature and actually being able to build something based on that observation.

Step 5: Emulate - Put It All Together

The final step is where creativity meets science. You take all the natural strategies you've learned about, look for patterns between them, and start brainstorming solutions based on those patterns.

This isn't random brainstorming though. NASA level prompts give you specific techniques for analyzing your research and finding the most important insights. You look for similarities between different natural solutions, categorize them by how they work, and ask systematic questions about what you've learned.

BIDARA guides users through questions like:

• Are these solutions working at tiny scales or big scales?

• Do you see the same shapes or patterns repeating?

• What processes are happening?

• How do these solutions fit into larger systems?

This structured approach to creativity ensures that your final solutions are based on solid research and understanding, not just random ideas.

The Secret Sauce: Asking the Right Questions

What really makes NASA level prompts special is how they use questions to guide thinking. Instead of just hoping the AI knows what you need, these prompts include specific questions that make sure all the important aspects get covered.

The questions build on each other too. Each answer leads to the next question, creating a chain of thinking that goes deeper and deeper into the problem. This is exactly how real experts think - they don't just know a lot of facts, they know how to ask the right questions to solve problems.

Nature's Rules: The Guidelines That Keep Solutions on Track

One of the smartest parts of NASA level prompts is that they include basic principles to help evaluate ideas. BIDARA uses ten "unifying patterns" that describe how nature actually works:

1. Nature only uses the energy it actually needs

2. Nature recycles everything

3. Nature can handle disruptions and bounce back

4. Nature tries to do things efficiently, not just bigger

5. Nature creates solutions that help multiple things at once

6. Nature runs on information and communication

7. Nature uses materials that are safe for living things

8. Nature uses common materials mostly, and rare materials sparingly

9. Nature adapts to local conditions

10. Nature uses shape to determine how things work

These aren't just nice ideas - they're practical guidelines for checking whether your solutions are actually good. If your design uses tons of energy or creates toxic waste, it probably won't work in the real world, even if it seems clever.

How to Use NASA Level Prompts for Your Own Projects

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to use these techniques. Here's how to apply NASA level prompts to your own challenges:

Start by Setting Up the AI's Role

Don't just ask questions - tell the AI exactly what kind of expert you want it to be. If you're working on a school project about renewable energy, tell the AI to act like an environmental engineer who specializes in clean technology. Give it specific knowledge areas and goals.

Break Big Problems into Steps

Instead of asking one huge question, create a series of smaller questions that build on each other. Each step should have a clear purpose and should lead naturally to the next step.

Include Check-Points

NASA level prompts include regular stops to make sure everything is going in the right direction. Tell the AI to pause and ask for feedback, or to double-check its own work before moving forward.

Use Question Lists

Instead of hoping the AI knows what to analyze, give it specific questions to work through. This ensures that important aspects don't get missed.

Set Quality Standards

Include guidelines for what makes a good answer. This helps the AI focus on the most important aspects of your problem.

Beyond Nature: Using These Techniques for Everything

Even though BIDARA focuses on learning from nature, the same prompting techniques work for all kinds of challenges:

School Projects: Use systematic research methods to explore topics thoroughly

Business Ideas: Analyze market opportunities using multi-step processes

Creative Projects: Balance imagination with practical constraints

Problem Solving: Break complex challenges into manageable pieces

Learning: Structure study sessions to build knowledge systematically

Why This Matters for the Future

NASA level prompts show us where AI communication is heading. As AI systems get more powerful, the quality of our instructions becomes more important. Simple questions will keep getting simple answers, but well-designed prompts can unlock AI capabilities that rival human experts.

This isn't just about getting better homework help. It's about learning to work with AI as a true partner. Instead of just asking AI for information, we're learning to guide AI through the same thinking processes that experts use.

Key Rules for Making Great AI Prompts

Based on what NASA teaches us, here are the most important principles for creating advanced AI prompts:

Build a Clear Structure: Organize complex requests into logical steps with clear connections between them.

Define the AI's Role: Tell the AI exactly what kind of expert it should be, with specific knowledge and skills.

Include Quality Control: Build in ways for the AI to check its own work and improve its answers.

Consider Context: Always think about the environment, limitations, and people involved in your problem.

Plan for Improvement: Design prompts that get better results through systematic questioning and analysis.

Make It Practical: Include instructions for turning theoretical ideas into real solutions.

Getting Started: Your First Steps

To begin using NASA level prompts in your own work, try these practical steps:

Define Your Expert: Decide what kind of specialist you want the AI to become for your specific challenge.

Map Your Process: Figure out the logical steps your project needs and organize your prompt accordingly.

Create Question Lists: Develop systematic questions that guide analysis instead of leaving discovery to chance.

Set Standards: Establish clear criteria for judging the quality and usefulness of generated ideas.

Plan for Rounds: Design prompts that naturally lead to improving and refining initial ideas.

How to Know If It's Working

NASA level prompts should produce noticeably better results than regular approaches. Look for:

• More complete analysis of complicated problems

• Better solution options

• Stronger connections between different knowledge areas

• More practical recommendations

• Clearer logical connections between analysis and conclusions

Working Together Instead of Just Asking

Maybe the most important thing about NASA level prompts is how they change the relationship between humans and AI. Instead of just getting information from AI, these advanced approaches create real working partnerships where human insight guides AI capabilities toward meaningful results.

This partnership model reflects how NASA actually tackles complex challenges - diverse expertise combines through systematic processes to achieve goals that no single person could accomplish alone.

What Comes Next

As we keep developing smarter ways to communicate with AI, the principles shown by NASA's BIDARA system give us a roadmap for improving our interactions with artificial intelligence. The future belongs to people who can create instructions that unlock AI's potential for real expertise and insight.

NASA level prompts aren't just about getting better AI responses - they're about fundamentally changing how we approach complex challenges by combining human strategic thinking with artificial intelligence's analytical capabilities. In a world where the quality of our questions determines the value of our answers, mastering these advanced prompting techniques becomes essential for anyone serious about using AI for meaningful work.

NASA's systematic approach to prompt engineering offers a glimpse into a future where artificial intelligence becomes a true intellectual partner, capable of expert-level analysis and insight when guided by carefully crafted instructions. For anyone ready to move beyond basic AI interaction, NASA level prompts provide the framework for unlocking genuinely transformative capabilities.

The space agency shows us that the future of AI isn't just about more powerful computers - it's about more sophisticated ways of communicating with those computers. Just as NASA's mission success depends on precise protocols and systematic approaches, our success with AI will increasingly depend on our ability to craft instructions that guide artificial intelligence toward truly useful outcomes.

Real-World Applications You Can Try Today

Here are some specific ways students and professionals can start using NASA level prompts right now:

Research Projects: Instead of asking "Tell me about climate change," try "Act as an environmental scientist. Guide me through a systematic analysis of climate change impacts, starting with defining the scope of impacts we should examine, then identifying the most reliable data sources, then analyzing patterns in that data, and finally synthesizing insights about future implications."

Creative Writing: Instead of asking "Help me write a story," try "Act as a creative writing mentor. Help me develop a compelling story by first establishing the central conflict and stakes, then building characters whose goals directly relate to that conflict, then designing a plot structure that systematically increases tension, and finally crafting dialogue that reveals character while advancing the plot."

Problem Solving: Instead of asking "How do I improve my grades," try "Act as an academic success coach. Help me systematically analyze my current study habits by first identifying specific areas where I'm struggling, then examining the root causes of those struggles, then researching evidence-based study techniques that address those specific causes, and finally creating an implementation plan with built-in progress tracking."

These examples show how NASA level prompts transform vague requests into structured processes that produce much better results.

The Science Behind Why This Works

NASA level prompts work because they mirror how human experts actually think. Real experts don't just know lots of facts - they have systematic ways of approaching problems that help them find solutions others might miss.

When you give AI these same systematic approaches, it can apply its vast knowledge more effectively. It's like the difference between having access to a huge library and having a librarian who knows exactly how to find what you need.

The key insight is that intelligence isn't just about having information - it's about having good processes for using that information. NASA level prompts provide those processes.

Building Your Prompt Engineering Skills

Learning to create NASA level prompts is a skill that improves with practice. Start with simpler challenges and gradually work up to more complex ones. Pay attention to which techniques produce the best results for different types of problems.

Remember that the goal isn't to create the most complicated prompt possible - it's to create the most effective prompt for your specific need. Sometimes a simple, well-structured prompt works better than an overly complex one.

The most important thing is to think systematically about what you want the AI to do, and then provide clear instructions that guide it through that process step by step.

Key Points to Remember

Main Idea: "NASA level prompts" use systematic, multi-step approaches instead of simple questions

Core Framework: The BIDARA system shows how expert role definition and structured problem-solving work together

Essential Elements: Advanced prompts include built-in quality control and systematic questioning

Big Picture: Success requires working with AI as a partner rather than just asking it questions

Broad Applications: These techniques work for engineering, business, research, and creative challenges, not just space science

Future Impact: As AI gets more powerful, knowing how to give it good instructions becomes more important for getting expert-level results

A Final Note

Until next time,

Renjit Philip