Everyone can join in the event. It is open to software developers, scientists, designers, storytellers, and technologists – both amateurs and professionals – with no age limits. What really counts is real commitment and readiness to spend two days working hard on innovative solutions to one of NASA’s challenges concerning Earth and Space.
This year’s challenges cover many topics, and they’ve been grouped into six main categories. One may, for example, choose to design a device (sensor or free-flyer) or to create phone or tablet based apps, websites and other online tools to be used in such extremely different areas as rocket launching; education about the beauty of the Earth and connections between living organisms and environmental health; or providing instructions on how to detect, prevent and prepare for chosen kinds of disasters. Participants can also plan a lunar mission, generate VR environments useful for exploration of the Moon and/or Mars, or prepare a concept of a time capsule containing educational materials for alien civilizations. All of that with the use of open NASA data.
To register for the event, each candidate should create an individual profile on the website of the Global Organizing Team and then choose the most convenient location to join. Two locations available within Central Europe will be Poland (Gdańsk, Science and Technology Park) and Slovakia (Bratislava, Progressbar). One can also hack individually from anywhere around the globe, through the Space Apps 2018 Virtual Event.
Although the 48-hour Hackathon will start on Saturday 20th October, participants should also be at the Pre-Event Meetup on October 19 to learn about the challenges and the rules, and to get to know other fans of hacking in order to build teams, consisting preferably of no more than five people.
The Hackathon will end with a pitching session where each team will present their solutions to the judges. Up to two of the best projects from each location will be sent for global judging, managed by NASA, and the winners will be announced in January 2019.
More information on the event and other locations available in Europe can be found at the website of the Global Organizing Team.