This global event happens at The Zone October 5-6

Queen City Robotics Alliance announced that it has been selected as the Charlotte host for the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge in October. The event will take place at QCRA’s facility, The Zone, the weekend of October 5-6.

The NASA International Space Apps Challenge is the world’s largest global hackathon. This two-day event on October 5-6 allows participants of all ages to use NASA’s free and open data sources and its Space Agency Partners’ space-based data to address real-world Earth and space problems. The 2024 theme is “The Sun Touches Everything.” During the event, participants (individuals and teams) gather at designated sites worldwide in person and virtually to address challenges submitted by NASA experts.

Also known as a Hackathon, this event began in 2012 and primarily focused on technology in space but has evolved to include challenges here on Earth. Today, the NASA Space Apps Challenge features arts and humanities challenges alongside the technology challenges, thus building a more inclusive program. The challenges will also have different difficulty levels from elementary age to college students to industry professionals, so everyone is welcome to participate. These challenges range in complexity and subject, tasking participants to create everything from artistic visualizations of NASA data to conceptualizing and developing informational apps and software programs. NASA’s goal is to “promote innovation through international collaboration.” The format for the event is called a hackathon, which is an event set up by a company or organization that brings people together in a collaborative environment to find high-quality solutions for current issues.

This event is free and open to all ages; however, anyone 18 and under must be registered and accompanied by a parent or other adult. To learn more about NASA’s program, use this link: https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/nasa-space-apps-2024/

QCRA CEO Kaiwen Cheng is excited that the organization has this unique opportunity to host this singular event because it will bring more recognition, interest, and outreach to QCRA’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs in the Charlotte community.

“This is an opportunity for students to use NASA to explore ideas,” said Cheng. “Space technology is a leading technology. It’s using space to inspire and impact our daily lives. Things like GPS and memory foam mattresses. We wouldn’t have those things today without NASA technology.”

“This is also an exciting opportunity for our students,” he continued, “because it is an interesting and tangible way for them to explore STEM education and discover their talents through NASA and the wonders of space.”

To receive Charlotte event updates, visit QCRA’s particular event website – Space Apps – Charlotte (google.com) – or follow QCRA’s social media outlets.