Final Call — Register Now for NASA Space Apps @ NASA Ames 🚀

Dear Participant,

Due to security procedures at NASA Ames Research Center, this is the final week to register for the in-person NASA Space Apps Challenge in Mountain View, happening October 5–6, 2025!

👉 Last chance to sign up and bring your friends to join in person! 🚀

🔗 Event Page: spaceappschallenge.org/2025/local-events/mountain-view
🌟 Bay Area Kick-Off @ Google HQ: luma.com/gpsg0kje

💡 Form Your Team (Up to 6 People)

Space Apps is a team-based hackathon. Gather your friends, colleagues, or fellow innovators and register together — teams are typically 6 people, so bring your crew and collaborate to solve real-world challenges using NASA’s open data.

✨ Don’t have a team yet? No worries! Register as an individual, and we’ll help match you with others at the event.

🌍 This is your chance to be part of the world’s largest global hackathon, where innovators from 160+ countries come together to tackle challenges that impact Earth and space exploration. 🛰️🚀

👉 Register now to secure your spot before the list closes!

 

We look forward to seeing the groundbreaking solutions you and your team will create.

Requirements

🛠️ What to Build

At the NASA Space Apps Challenge, you and your team will have the chance to choose from a wide variety of official challenges provided by NASA and its global space agency partners. Each challenge invites you to use NASA’s open data to tackle problems that impact Earth, space exploration, and humanity’s future.

You’re encouraged to bring your creativity and unique skills — whether in coding, design, storytelling, science, art, or business. Teams often build prototypes, mockups, data visualizations, apps, games, policy ideas, or creative solutions that make NASA data more accessible and impactful.

Explore this year’s full list of challenges here 👉 2025 Challenges

📤 What to Submit

By the end of the hackathon, each team will submit a project page that includes:

  • ✅ A description of your solution and which challenge it addresses

  • ✅ Details of your approach, tools, and data used

  • ✅ Screenshots, diagrams, or a prototype/demo (as applicable)

  • ✅ A short video (recommended) explaining your project and its impact

🌟 You’re Not Alone!

 

Throughout the event, you’ll have the support of mentors, volunteers, and judges to guide your journey. They’ll answer questions, provide feedback, and help you refine your ideas so you can focus on learning, innovating, and having fun.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

2 non-cash prizes
MOVA Globes
1 winner

MOVA Globes – Prize for the Winning Team (Set of 6)

Each member of the winning team will receive a MOVA Globe, a unique, rotating globe that spins continuously using only ambient light and the Earth’s magnetic field — no batteries or cords required.

MOVA Globes combine advanced solar cell technology with the natural forces of light and magnetism to create a smooth, silent rotation that mirrors the Earth’s own movement. With stunning detail and elegant design, they serve as both a decorative piece and a symbol of global exploration and innovation.

Prize: 6 MOVA Globes (one per team member) - celebrating the creativity and collaboration that drive the NASA Space Apps Challenge.

LifeShip Kits – Your DNA Sent to the Moon
1 winner

LifeShip Kits – Your DNA Sent to the Moon (Set of 6)

Each member of the winning team will receive a LifeShip DNA Kit, giving them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to send their DNA to the Moon.

LifeShip preserves DNA as a time capsule of Earth’s life, sending it aboard lunar landers to remain on the Moon for future generations — a symbolic way to be part of humanity’s story in space exploration.

Prize: 6 LifeShip Kits (one per team member) — a chance for every winner to leave a personal legacy on the lunar surface.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Secret Judging (Revealed on the day of the event)

Secret Judging (Revealed on the day of the event)

Judging Criteria

  • Influence / Impact
    How big a problem your project addresses, how many people it could help, and whether it has the potential to be scaled or replicated.
  • Creativity / Innovation
    How novel your approach is - whether it introduces fresh ideas or solutions, or improves on existing ones in a unique way.
  • Validity / Feasibility
    How sound your solution is scientifically or technically. Does it do what you claim? Is it realistic or applicable in the real world?
  • Relevance
    How closely your project aligns with the challenge you chose. Is your solution appropriate for the problem? Is it usable or user-friendly?
  • Presentation
    How well you tell the story of your project - the problem, the solution, and why it matters. Clarity, good visuals, polished demo/videos and a strong narrative all count here.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Tell your friends

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