NASA is collaborating with individuals and organizations around the world on the International Space Apps Challenge to fulfill the United States’ commitments to the Open Government Partnership.

We do not set a minimum age for participation in Space Apps, and many youth and children have participated in past events. We only note that participants under 13 must have a parent or guardian register for them and attend with them. Many events have special events planned for younger students, but qualified, interested students are certainly invited to participate in the regular challenges (in line with the legal policy and any requirements set by the local lead.)

Registration for participants will open in early March. When you register you can choose a location where you can participate, or select "virtual" if there is not a physical location near you.

Anyone is welcome to register to participate in the International Space Apps Challenge. Federal employees of NASA are prohibited from volunteering their time with teams to create solutions. NASA subject matter experts require supervisor approval. See the Space Apps legal page for details. NASA employees who participate will engage in the challenge in their personal capacity (i.e. identifying themselves by their own names and without referencing their NASA employment) on a voluntary basis outside their working hours, and will not be entitled to compensation for their time. NASA contractors should refer all questions regarding their participation to the corresponding contracting officer.

Always use #spaceapps, and you can also add city abbreviations if you like (e.g. #TO or #PHL). Each challenge statement also has its own hashtag.

It totally can! We can't promise that it will - Space Apps does not provide a specific mechanism to send projects to space at this time, but with the right solution that fits a specific need in space, anything is possible.

Absolutely! As long as you can run your event (or have your team help run your event) if you have time to help on a project, then by all means, please do.

You can join a team on the day of the event based on your interest in a particular challenge or a match of skills. Your local event organizers can help you to find the right team for you. You are also welcome to form your team in advance and come to the event together.

As many (or as few) as you'd like to have. We particularly encourage you to meet and collaborate with new people who have very different skills from yours. Bringing together very diverse skills and talents is often a key to breakthrough innovation!

All team members should register on the Space Apps site so we can be sure we have resources (at both physical locations and virtually) to support everyone who will be participating. Moreover, you will not be able to add your team members to your project page if they have not registered on spaceappschallenge.org.

English is strongly preferred for these items, as it is the language Space Apps is led in and that most of us have in common - making your work accessible to the largest number of people. Working in another language, however, does not disqualify you.

In spite of the name, it is not just about APPS! There are challenges that involve robotics, data visualization, hardware, design, and many other elements!

All solutions built at the event must be submitted under an open source license that permits the free and open dissemination of the work. NASA and the other supporting organizations do not own the rights to nor are committed to utilize any solution developed during the event. See the legal statement for more details.

There may be visitors coming to check out the action, as well as press and others who are interested in covering the activities happening at Space Apps, but no, there should not be an audience. If you do see people milling around just watching, get them involved in a project team so they can contribute to the problem-solving!