Breakdown

Join us for the 2018 NASA Space Apps Challenge, a global hackathon in which teams work together to address challenges in Earth science and space exploration. Scientists, artists, programmers, students, makers, and anyone with a creative mindset is welcome to participate!

Two winning teams from each location will be nominated for global judging. Those teams will create a short video demo for their project, and judges from NASA will select a handful of global finalists from hundreds of submissions.

In this hackathon, we will be specifically focusing on space. How can we shape the industry of space, and forward human innovation in space, harnessing modern technology?

The Space Apps Challenge is an international event that occurs over 48 hours in cities around the globe. Coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists and space enthusiasts come together to address challenges we face on Earth and in space. This will be the first ever event open to teens.

Almost 70 teens aged 10 to 18 will have a chance to be mentored by specialists in AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, Marketing and Design Thinking, and will be competing against adult space tech enthusiasts across the globe.

The theme of this year’s challenge is Earth and Space, and the six challenge categories are:

• Can You Build a…? The challenge in this category will ask contestants to use NASA data to show how to create a variety of things from buildings, to robotic helpers, to tools for citizen science.
• Help Others Discover the Earth. Participants will use NASA data to craft a story, game, video or other solution that helps people discover how Earth works.
• Volcanoes, Icebergs and Asteroids. Contestants in this category will be challenged to analyze NASA data to help anticipate, monitor and recover from natural surprises or disasters, such as damaging floods.
• What the World Needs Now Is… Members in this category will tackle problems affecting some aspect of life on Earth and on other planets.
• An Icy Glare. This challenge category will ask participants to use NASA data to better understand, monitor and interpret Earth’s cryosphere (sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets and frozen ground).
• A Universe of Beauty and Wonder. Contestants in this category are invited to think about space science and exploration.

Agenda

Day 1

Day 2

Prizes

Technology Prize: NOVA DIY AI Robot

Lunch & Tour of Microsoft HQ, London

Microsoft for Startups prize:

- One month in residence at the Microsoft for Startups Accelerator for the winning team

- One Session : Ten Steps to Clarity.

- One Tech Session

- One CEO 1:1 Mentoring Session.

Lunch at Twitter