Registration is open for the 2026 NASA Space Apps Challenge, a two-day global event on Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15, where teams work to create solutions inspired by NASAâs most ambitious exploration goals and making use of the agencyâs free and open data. The annual challenge, often called a hackathon, is an intensive, collaborative problem-solving experience where participants tackle real-world challenges created by NASA subject matter experts.
This yearâs Space Apps Challenge collectively supports three major focus areas: returning humans to the Moon, preparing for missions deeper into the solar system, and expanding understanding of the universe. Participants do not have to be programmers. Students, scientists, engineers, designers, storytellers, technologists, and space enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels can contribute their skills.
“At NASA, science is for everyone, and weâre inviting the next generation to help tackle some of humanityâs most critical challenges in space through the NASA Space Apps Challenge,â said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. âEverything in NASA Science is interconnected, and this year, students from around the world can use NASA’s powerful data sets to help us build the ultimate interplanetary survival guide – supporting the science that will enable astronauts to thrive on the Moon and, eventually, Mars, while also inspiring ideas that improve everyday life on Earth and in space for the benefit of all.”
Supporting lunar exploration, Artemis planning
NASA continues to advance plans for a sustained human presence on the Moon through the Artemis program and Moon Base. Several of this yearâs Space Apps challenges relate to analytical tools, operational considerations, and humanâsystem needs relevant to lunar missions. These include work related to surface operations at the Moonâs South Pole, the management of environmental constraints such as sunlight and communications windows, as well as approaches for evaluating the logistical and scientific demands of longâduration lunar stays. Broader systemâlevel modeling challenges, such as those that simulate outpost operations or consider astronaut health and safety, mirror the complexity of planning for human activity on the lunar surface.
Strengthening readiness for Mars, deep space
NASAâs exploration strategy includes continued robotic exploration of the outer solar system and preparing for future human missions to Mars. Several challenges involve operational concepts for Martian surface activities, integrating data from multiple Mars missions, or reflecting the missionâdesign tradeâoffs required for deepâspace exploration. Others address fundamental concerns for longâduration travel, such as monitoring physiological and behavioral health indicators, or examining how engineering and scientific choices shape mission execution in environments far from Earth.
Some of these challenges also align with NASAâs broader exploration portfolio, which includes ongoing work on future missions to destinations such as Jupiterâs moon Europa and Saturnâs moon Titan. By simulating missionâdesign decisions or evaluating environmental analogs on Earth, certain challenges offer frameworks related to how NASA prepares for complex operational scenarios throughout the solar system.
Enhancing access to astrophysics
NASAâs astrophysics missions contribute to understanding the structure and history of the universe. In 2026, this includes active missions like Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx), which is conducting a fullâsky spectral survey, as well as the continued development and deployment of observatories designed to investigate cosmic evolution and exoplanet, which are planets outside our solar system, populations.
Challenges associated with these efforts focus on improving public access to mission data, designing tools that help visualize changes in the sky over time, and supporting broader engagement with the scientific products derived from these missions.
Broader impact across NASAâs mission landscape
Together, these challenges illustrate how NASAâs open data ecosystem enables gold standard science, by freely offering such a wide breadth of information and research. By engaging with the Space Apps event, the entire nation can interact with the kind of realâworld needs defined by the agency.
Registration is available at the NASA Space Apps Challenge. Participants can join in one of 500+ local events, join a team, and select the challenge that they are most interested in addressing during the November hackathon.
Source: NASA
