CrafterWIKI

Hackathons

agency open data challenge

NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2026

Theme: The Next Frontier!. Organized by NASA Space Apps Global Organizing Team.

Dates
14–15 Nov 2026
Format
hybrid
Where
In-person and virtual Local Events worldwide, plus the virtual Universal Event
Team size
1-6
Results
upcoming

Upcoming. Plan with the rubric, constraints and priors below; results are added after the event.How to plan with CrafterWIKI →

Timeline

26 Aug 2026Registration opens
17 Sep 2026Challenge summaries published; team formation opens
28 Oct 2026Full challenge statements with data sets and requirements
2 Nov 2026Space Apps Connect opens
13 Nov 2026Project Submission and Judging & Awards guides published
14 Nov 2026Hackathon starts; project submission opens 09:00 local time
15 Nov 2026Submission closes 23:59 local time
31 Dec 2026December 2026: Global Nominees, Finalists and Honorable Mentions announced
31 Jan 2027January 2027: Global Winners announced

How it is judged

CriterionLensWhat judges look for
ImpactimpactCarried from 2025 until the 2026 Judging & Awards guide is published (2026-11-13).
CreativityoriginalityCarried from 2025.
Validityscientific validityCarried from 2025.
Relevancechallenge relevanceCarried from 2025.
Presentationstorytelling pitchCarried from 2025.

Judges. Expected three phases as in 2025: Local/Universal Event judges → NASA and Space Agency Partner subject-matter experts → an executive committee of agency leaders.

Criteria and award list are provisional until 2026-11-13. Recognition for 2026 Global Winners is 'to be announced'.

Submissions and base rates

none roster. 0 indexed. These counts describe what CrafterWIKI indexed, not what the event produced — do not read them as base rates.

Priors from other agency open data challenge events

Mechanisms and lenses among 20 confirmed winners from 2 other events of this kind.

Mechanisms

Judging lenses

  • challenge relevance11/20
  • design ux11/20
  • impact9/20
  • scientific validity8/20
  • technical depth8/20
  • storytelling pitch7/20
  • originality4/20
  • business potential2/20

Curator note. Dogfood target for the /hack-plan harness (hack-plan/nasa-space-apps-2026/). Prior: nasa-space-apps-2025.

Use this brief

crafterwiki event nasa-space-apps-2026

JSON record

Sources

  1. https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/resources/participant-faqs/ · official event page · retrieved 2026-09-14 — Dates, theme, timeline, team rules, no work before the hackathon.
  2. https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/2026/ · official event page · retrieved 2026-09-14 — Registration, team size, submission window.