Presented by Bosch at the 2025 Space Apps Challenge Charlotte. Congratulations Team Environauts for Project Clairify
October 4 and 5th, Queen City Robotics Alliance was the Charlotte in-person host for the 2025 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. This year’s event was held at Sullenberger Aviation Museum where 15 local teams with over 60 participants spent their weekend working on a specific scientific challenge presented by NASA. This was a 50% increase in participation over last year.
We are pleased to announce our volunteer judges selected Team Environauts and their Project Clairify for the Invented for Life award presented by Bosch. The team based their project on this NASA Challenge: From EarthData to Action: Cloud Computing with Earth Observation Data for Predicting Cleaner, Safer Skies.
The team created Clairify, a web-based application that provides information from NASA databases regarding air quality, ozone pollution, primary irritants, and air composition. The website is designed for users with respiratory illnesses to learn about the environmental air quality in their immediate area. The team’s goal was “to maximize the safety and comfort of sensitive groups such as vulnerable populations and workers who live in heightened exposure areas.”
The Invented for Life award celebrates projects that align with Bosch’s mission to improve the quality of life for current and future generations by acting in an economically, ecologically, and socially responsible manner. Team Environauts consists of Team Leader Taran Duba, and team members Shawn Mankotia, Vaishnavi Natva, Rahil Kamdar, Sahasra Jonnala, and Sashya Guduru.
Award runner up was Team Zorillas and their Project Cosmic Observation Research Archive, a website designed to provide easy access to publications and studies regarding bio-scientific experiments and studies in space. The team’s goal was “to inform scientific breakthroughs by identifying gaps in research, as well as facilitate future research into curing diseases.” Team Zorillas consists of Team Leader Atharv Patil and team members Ankit Panda, Shardul Arya, Eytan Grumberg, Prajit Vijayaraj, and Anivin Potaraju.
QCRA would also like to thank our local sponsors who supported this event: Title sponsor Infosys, award sponsor Bosch USA, facility sponsor Sullenberger Aviation Museum, food sponsor Rexroth a Bosch Company, and drink sponsor Coca-Cola Consolidated.
Started in 2012, the NASA International Space Apps Challenge is the world’s largest global hackathon. This two-day event provides an opportunity for 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 issues on Earth and in space. During the event, participating teams gather at designated sites all over the world and virtually to address specific challenges submitted by NASA experts.
