The International Space Apps Challenge is looking for educators, students, and other group categories to participate! These challenges promote STEM education by encouraging students from around the world to utilize open technology for solutions to global challenges. This can be “your opportunity to build, create, and invent new solutions to challenges of global importance.”

About: It’s a two-day technology development event during which citizens around the world will work together to solve current challenges relevant to both space exploration and social need. The event will take place on all seven continents and in space on April 21-21, 2012.

How it works: This challenge is a “codeathon-style” event. A codeathon is a unique event that brings together citizens interested in collaborating on the development solutions that address critical challenges. A codeathon celebrates software development in its most positive context—using minimal resources and maximum brainpower to create outside- the-box solutions in response to interesting problems. Codeathons are technology development marathons, drawing on the talents and initiative of the best and the brightest software developers, engineers, designers and technologists from around the world, who volunteer their time to respond to real- world problems with solutions than can have immediate impact.

At the events, individuals collaborate with others by forming teams focused on solving a particular challenge. The teams compete with other teams around the world to utilize publicly available space and data to design innovative “solutions” to a pre-determined series of global “challenges.”

Locations: Locations in which events are currently planned to be held include San Francisco, US; Tokyo, Japan; Melbourne and Canberra, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Exeter and Oxford, UK; Nairobi, Kenya; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. There will be additional events throughout the world and participation by astronauts on the International Space Station. Displayed below is a map of the locations.

To view the interactive International Space Apps Challenge Locations map, click on the image or go to this site: Map

Challenges: Challenges are in development from a wide variety of sources inside and outside of NASA. An initial set has been posted on the site and the community is invited to help develop them collaboratively there. New challenges will continue to be added on a weekly basis in anticipation of the event. To view the current challenge list go to Challenges.

The International Space Apps Challenge is your opportunity to change the world! For more information visit SpaceAppsChallenge.org.