NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge—the world’s largest annual global hackathon—is back for 2025, and registrations are officially open! Innovators, coders, artists, designers, and space enthusiasts from around the world are invited to be part of this exciting journey to solve real-world problems using NASA’s open data.
This year’s powerful theme,“Learn, Launch, Lead,” was announced just a week ago and sets the tone for what’s expected to be one of the most impactful editions yet. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a curious beginner, the Space Apps Challenge offers a unique opportunity to collaborate, build, and contribute to something truly out of this world.
How to Join the 2025 Space Apps Challenge
Participation is free and open to all skill levels—whether you’re a developer, designer, data scientist, storyteller, student, or entrepreneur, there’s a place for you in this mission. Here’s a breakdown of the process to get involved:
The first step, which opened on July 17, 2025, is to create an account on the official Space Apps Challenge website (spaceappschallenge.org). Returning participants can simply log in with their existing details. Once logged in, you’ll need to register for the 2025 event, which makes you eligible for the final global judging round. Registration will remain open until the end of the hackathon on October 5, 2025.
After registration, you’ll be prompted to select a Local Event. These events are hosted around the world in both physical and virtual formats. If there’s no local event near you, don’t worry—you can join the Universal Event, which is NASA’s official global virtual hub.
Starting on August 21, 2025, participants will be able to form or join teams, working together to solve a challenge of their choosing from NASA’s set of global problems. Teams can include up to six members and can be formed based on skills, shared interests, or even regional affinity. This step emphasizes collaboration and helps simulate real-world teamwork under time constraints.
When the hackathon weekend arrives—from October 4 to 5—you’ll get your chance to build, test, and finalize your solution. Your team must submit your project by 11:59 p.m. on October 5 to be eligible for certificates and global recognition. Projects will be judged based on creativity, use of NASA data, relevance to the challenge, and overall presentation.
To close the loop, participants will be asked to complete a short feedback survey by October 25, 2025. This helps NASA and its global partners improve future hackathons and understand what participants valued most.
Why This Event Matters
The Space Apps Challenge isn’t just a technical sprint—it’s a global call for creative problem-solving. Participants often tackle challenges related to climate change, space exploration, ocean health, AI and machine learning, disaster response, and more. In past years, solutions have included everything from satellite-powered forest monitoring systems to VR apps simulating Mars missions.
More importantly, the challenge provides unmatched exposure. Many past global winners have been invited to attend NASA rocket launches, engage with engineers and astronauts, and even tour space research facilities. It’s a career-launching platform that turns student ideas into real-world innovations.
