NASA Announces Dates for One of World's Largest Hackathons

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Mar 23, 2016, 10:30 ET

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's open innovation incubator, the International Space Apps Challenge, will take place April 22-24. The global main stage for this year's event will be in Pasadena, California, with local events taking place simultaneously in 193 locations spanning 72 countries.

On April 23 and 24, participants are asked to develop mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualizations and platform solutions that could contribute to space exploration missions and help improve life on Earth.

This year's challenge will include a Data Bootcamp on April 22, streamed live from the global main stage. The bootcamp is open to the public and will give participants the opportunity to learn new skills with computer coding and data.

"We're reaching out to women's organizations influential in the data and maker communities to participate, and we encourage women-led teams in the hackathon," said Deborah Diaz, chief technology officer for information technology.

More than 200 sources, including data sets, services and tools, will be available to challenge participants, which include techy-savvy citizens, scientists, entrepreneurs, educators, families and students to help solve problems and questions relevant to space exploration and broader subjects that impact life on Earth.

This year, NASA is offering 26 challenges in six mission-related categories: Aeronautics, Earth, International Space Station, Journey to Mars, Solar System and Beyond, and Space Technology.

A more information about the Space Apps Challenge, and a full list of NASA challenges, go to:
http://spaceappschallenge.org

Follow the challenge on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/spaceapps

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SOURCE NASA