The 2024 NASA International Space Apps Challenge had a record-breaking year with 93,520 registered participants from 163 countries and territories around the world! After kicking off the hackathon with NASA Associate Administrator Dr. Nicky Fox, the Heliophysics team, and our 15 Space Agency Partners in the Welcome to NASA Space Apps 2024 video, over 15,444 teams worked together to tackle 20 challenges. These teams submitted 9,996 projects that featured apps, videos, websites, and more.
This year's hackathon truly highlighted the power of collaboration and ingenuity, which was made possible by NASA's open data and space-based data from Space Agency Partners. Addressing these challenges and exploring data inspires and pushes the boundaries of discovery, advancing exploration and innovation.
The 2024 Theme “The Sun Touches Everything” with NASA Heliophysics
This year we celebrated the Helio Big Year with NASA Heliophysics, shining light on the impact that the Sun has on every aspect of our solar system and our environment. Throughout many of our challenges, our participants highlighted the Sun’s influences on everything, including weather patterns, plant growth, and climate. One challenge, Show Us What the May 2024 Geomagnetic Storms Looked Like, asked participants to creatively express the solar storms through a movie, dance, or other medium to help the public better understand their impacts.
15 Space Agency Partners
We welcomed two new Space Agency Partners in 2024 — the Spanish Space Agency and the Communications, Space & Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia. This global group provided participants with space-based data, resources, and expertise. They joined the
- Australian Space Agency
- Brazilian Space Agency
- Canadian Space Agency
- European Space Agency
- Indian Space Research Organization
- Italian Space Agency
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Mexican Space Agency
- National Space Activities Commission of Argentina
- National Space Science Agency of Bahrain
- Paraguayan Space Agency
- South African National Space Agency
- Turkish Space Agency
NASA Space Apps and these space agencies are working together to help increase access to space and science opportunities around the world. Global collaboration brings people together to share knowledge and ideas, sparking creativity, and learning. We aim to open the doors for more people to engage with space science, creating new chances for discovery that benefit communities worldwide.
Global Community
As the largest annual global hackathon, we strive to provide an opportunity for participants to collaborate around the world together. For the third year in a row, India, Egypt, Pakistan, Brazil, and Turkey had the most registrants! Our Local Leads worked tirelessly to host 485 Local Events this year in cities and towns worldwide – bringing people together in person and virtually to address challenges. And we can’t forget about our Universal Event, a virtual opportunity for participants whether they have a Local Event near them or not, allowing anyone to participate! Over 5,796 participants joined the virtual Universal Event to tackle science and space challenges together.
We were also joined by 120 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), 26 Navigators, 26 Amplification Collaborators, and 14 Global Offers from around the world who supported our participants in their success. The SMEs and Navigators answered participant questions, provided guidance, and encouraged teams to keep going during the hackathon. Our Collaborators and Global Offers increased accessibility, amplified NASA Space Apps to their diverse networks, and provided optional tools and resources to support participant projects.
We are completely blown away by the entire NASA Space Apps community and how it grows year after year. We want to thank every single participant, Space Agency Partners, Local Leads, SMEs, Navigators, and Collaborators – you made this year’s hackathon incredibly meaningful and inspiring. By participating in NASA Space Apps, you used your skills to inspire others, learn together, promote collaboration, and fuel a culture of curiosity and exploration. As a global community, we know that anything is possible.
This year’s 10 Global Winners will be announced on January 16, 2025, during our Winners Announcement. We will also announce the dates for the 2025 NASA Space Apps Challenge. Stay tuned and up-to-date by connecting with us on social media.
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