NASA and space agencies around the world are preparing for the third annual International Space Apps Challenge on 12 and 13 April. Participants will develop mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualisation and platform solutions that could contribute to space exploration missions and help improve life on Earth.
NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan will next week announce the inclusion of a new challenge focused on coastal flooding, developed by NASA and NOAA, and based on federal cross-agency data.
The Coastal Inundation in Your Community challenge is one of four climate-related challenges using data provided by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The challenge encourages entrepreneurs, technologists and developers to create and deploy data-driven visualisations and simulations that will help people understand their exposure to coastal-inundation hazards and other vulnerabilities.
“Solutions developed through this challenge could have many potential impacts,” says Stofan. “This includes helping coastal businesses determine whether they are currently at risk from coastal inundation, and whether they will be impacted in the future by sea level rise and coastal erosion.”
The two-day International Space Apps Challenge will be a “codeathon”-style event locally hosted at almost 100 locations spanning six continents. More than 200 data sources, including data sets, data services, and tools will be made available.
The event will bring tech-savvy citizens, scientists, entrepreneurs, educators, and students together to help solve challenges relevant to both space exploration and social needs.
This year, more than 40 new challenges will represent NASA mission priorities and be organised in five themes: Earth Watch, Technology in Space Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Asteroids. About half of the challenges are in the Earth Watch theme, which supports NASA’s focus on Earth science in 2014.