How is the NASA SpaceAppsChallenge organized?
Hackathons are basically a gathering of interested coders who set about to solve a particular problem requiring a solution by computer programming. The problem may be solved by a single group, or by teams working together.
When more than one problem is posed for solution, teams may choose a problem and compete for the best solution, with the hackathon being organized as a tournament.
In the NASA SpaceAppsChallenge, the projected outcome is identification of ideas with best potential for development as a product useful for NASA’s purposes. For example, an application (app) product might enable citizen or professional scientists to efficiently access databases to perform tasks. The outcome of those tasks might then be communicated to a NASA database, which may be shared with others. Such a task might be to identify unusual events or objects, both on the earth and in outer space, as was the case with the NASA asteroid challenge(s).
Sometimes monetary prizes are awarded at a hackathon, which may be seen as seed capital for development of the winning idea(s).
For most participants, it is the fun of coding, and the camaraderie of working with others, that is the main incentive for attending, and the best reward.
NASA has explained the need for smartphone or computer applications usable by citizen scientists:
If all of you are helping us look for . . . events, by using a common interface you create with this challenge, we can discover more together than a few scientists can discover alone.
As stated earlier in this article, although most of the project products are expected to be apps, some of the projects have other expected outcomes.
The teams are expected to benefit from participation by non-coders who may be artists, writers, scientists, or engineers, as well as participants from academia and industry.
To see a sample challenge, visit the next page.
