Registration opens for NASA’s Space Apps challenge

Registrations have opened for the 2020 NASA Space Apps Challenge Hackathon, which will take place virtually due to the pandemic. In Taiwan, the event is promoted by the American Institute in Taiwan in a broad partnership including Taiwan''s National Space Organization. The 48-hour event from Oct. 2-4 will see participants from more than 200 global cities solve challenges using NASA''s open-source data. All finalists will get the chance to watch a rocket launch up-close.

They’re walking on the moon for the cameras. On Thursday, the AIT’s cultural affairs officer and partners held a press event to announce the 2020 NASA International Space Apps Challenge.

Luke Martin
AIT Cultural Affairs Officer
This year’s theme is “Take Action.” We hope participants can use NASA’s open data to increase our understanding of the universe.

Lin Chun-liang
National Space Organization
The spirit of this hackathon is that we’re taking, say, software, or say, data, and releasing it, so that our energetic young partners can do some innovation.

The Space Apps challenge is one of NASA’s most creative outreach activities. Teams use NASA’s open data to enhance people’s understanding of the universe and the Earth, solving challenges across a variety of topics. The event is open to software engineers, scientists, and designers, who apply their expertise to develop “meaningful and feasible” solutions to problems faced by the world. Team Seal, a Global Finalist in last year’s event, shared its experience at the press event on Thursday.

Seal team member
2019 Global Finalist
We did “Build a Planet.” The most important thing with building a planet is the physical and chemical properties. Besides allowing the customization of physical properties, we added 44 chemical compounds.

Chen Hui-min
Taipei information technology dept.
This time around, I think that this is a very good opportunity for seeing how it’s done virtually, how an online competition can be held. Actually, this is something we can learn from.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s NASA hackathon will be held entirely online. Teams that make it to the finals will win a chance to see a rocket take off up close.