Participants

How to join and participate

NASA Space Apps Cambridge invites everyone* of all ages, skill levels, and professional backgrounds to join this global/local challenge.

Whether you’re a student, teacher, professional, researcher, artist, scientist, engineer, policy maker, health professional, media creator, or entrepreneur, the NASA Space Apps Challenge offers opportunities for everyone with an interest in space and the Earth.

All interested participants who live/work/study in the City of Cambridge Greater Boston, and surrounding cities/towns in New England - should pre-register with NASA Space Apps Cambridge, and confirm participation and choice of team/challenge, before final registration with NASA Global Space Apps Challenge.

This program is free, courtesy of NASA and local partners/collaborators like the Humansphere Foundation.

To join, participants must complete these steps:

1) Before or by October 4: Finalize your team and complete your registration (individually) with NASA Space Apps Cambridge by October 4.

2) October 4: Upon confirmation from NASA Space Apps Cambridge on October 4, please be formally registered with NASA by October 4.-5 You will receive email instructions.

3) October 5 Morning: Get together with your Team. Check in (together as a team) for at least 10 minutes virtually during the day, between 9AM-5PM, of October 5.

If you come in person, please enjoy a free breakfast/snacks on us, and get to take Team Photos by the NASA Space Apps banner/wall. Location will only be shared with Final Registrants.

4) October 5-6: Participate in the NASA Space Apps Global Challenge Hackathon/Creathon locally. Get together with your Team. Time and Place are at your discretion on both days. You can hang out with us. Or you can work together wherever you are most comfortable. What to do:

  • Before October 5 - you can brainstorm, ideate, and come up with a concept/action plan/solution for your Team Project.

  • October 5 is when you can start actually working on your chosen NASA Space Apps Challenge (on paper/laptop/other media).

  • Access NASA Mentors and other Mentors in person and online. NASA Mentors who are experts in each of the Challenges will be available to help you virtually.

  • At NASA Space Apps Cambridge, you can connect with Mentors (in person and virtually) in app development, coding, data science, arts/design, presentations.

  • Execute your concept/plan/solution for your Team Project.

  • Prepare your presentation. Be ready to present your Team Project for feedback by 1PM of October 6.

  • Submit your Team Project before NASA’s deadline!

4) October 6 Afternoon: Join your Team (in person or virtually) to present your Team Project during a 10-minute session after 1pm EST on October 6. This presentation is to get additional feedback from Mentors/Organizers.

5) Before the 11:59pm EST, Oct. 6 NASA Deadline - Finalize your presentation/solution/media for upload. Submit your complete documentation with NASA Global Space Apps Challenge online by the deadline.

How to form or join teams

You can form or join teams however way you like. There are many options and configurations:

  • For each Team, the Minimum Team Member # = 1 (yes, you can have a team of one, though we don’t advise it) and the Maximum Team # = 6.

  • You can organize around a NASA Challenge you want to work on, and form a team of friends and colleagues around that Challenge.

  • You can organize or join a Team by college/university (e.g. a Harvard Team, or an MIT Team, or a Mount Holyoke Team).

  • You can organize or join a Team that has members from across schools (e.g. a Harvard-MIT-Mount Holyoke Team, or a Northeastern-Wellesley Team).

  • For professionals, you can organize or join a Team by company, or you could organize or join a Team that has members from across companies.

  • You can bring together or join a group of friends across different fields or different schools or different companies, and together in a Team, you can tackle a Challenge.

  • You can bring together your Family as a Family Team to tackle a Challenge together.

    Please note this rule:

    The NASA Space Apps Cambridge, New England program is specifically for people currently living/working/studying in Cambridge City, Greater Boston Metropolitan Area, and surrounding cities/towns in New England (within ~1 hour or so driving distance from the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area).

Invitations for Participants are being coursed through colleges, universities, academic departments, student organizations, professional networks, corporate networks, and local communities and community organizations.

"We cannot solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein

“I truly believe that we in this generation must come to terms with nature, and I think we’re challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves.” — Rachel Carson