Each October, over the course of two days, coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists from around the world come together in a global hackathon. Participants in the NASA International Space Apps Challenge create in-person and virtual teams to solve challenges using open-source data from NASA and its Space Agency Partners.

This year's Space Agency Partners include 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, and the Turkish Space Agency.

The Space Apps Challenge, founded in 2012, has become the largest annual global hackathon in the world. While the top projects are recognized as Global Winners, Space Apps is all about collaboration! Our mission is focused on the following objectives:

• Inspire collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking

• Raise global awareness of NASA's open data

• Foster interest in Earth and space science and exploration

• Encourage innovation, growth and diversity in the next generation of scientists, engineers, technologists, artists, and designers

Space Apps is for everyone, including those who have never “hacked" before! All passionate problem solvers, from students to life-long learners, are encouraged to join. While some of our challenges are technical, others ask you to use artistic skills, business acumen, or your imagination.

In other words, you do not need to be a coder or data expert to be a part of the Space Apps Challenge. In fact, teams with the most diverse sets of skills are often the most successful!

Each year we provide these detailed guides to help you navigate the hackathon:

• Chat Guide

• Team Formation Guide

• Project Submission Guide

• Judging and Awards Guide

You can view our most recent guides on our Resources page.