The 2024 NASA International Space Apps Challenge held in Folsom was a resounding success, drawing nearly 100 participants from across the Sacramento region. Hosted at Granite City Coworking in historic Folsom, the weekend event brought together teams of students, professionals, and enthusiasts to tackle global challenges using NASA’s open data.
The NASA Space Apps Challenge, an annual hackathon, allows participants from around the world to collaborate in solving real-world problems related to space exploration and science. This year’s theme, “The Sun Touches Everything,” inspired participants to develop solutions for a wide range of challenges, from satellite data applications to visualizing geomagnetic storms.
The local event, sponsored by Granite City Coworking, CALNY Technologies LLC, and a number of other community organizations, was the largest of its kind in the Sacramento region to date. Participants ranged in age from tweens to seniors, with the majority being high school and college students. Many teams formed without prior connections, fostering new collaborations and ideas.
Over the weekend, ten teams presented their projects to a panel of judges, with three teams receiving recognition for their innovative solutions. The winners were:
-1st Place: Slime Squad – Landsat Reflectance Data: On the Fly and at Your Fingertips.
-2nd Place: *Éruption Solaire – Project Éruption Solaire*
-People’s Choice Award: Eco Nauts – Project Eco-Nauts: Imagine Our Connected Earth
The judging panel, consisting of local experts, included Yang Ni, President and CEO of CALNY Ventures; Sedale Turbovsky, CEO of Open Grants IO; Anastasia Long, an Air Traffic Control Supervisor at the FAA; Roderick Cross, a Marine Engineering graduate and tech entrepreneur; and Sandhya Balasubramanian, Manager of Software Engineering at CAISO.
Prizes were provided by event sponsors, including the Aerospace Museum of California and Aero Maestro book publishing. In addition, participants were treated to solar observations through various telescopes courtesy of the Community Observatory organization.
Brett Hoffstadt, co-lead of the event, expressed excitement over the level of enthusiasm and participation, noting that this year’s challenge had the highest turnout to date. “Events like these provide the spark for innovation and allow people to come together to solve important problems,” Hoffstadt said. “We might even consider a second venue next year to accommodate even more participants.”
Ingrid Rosten, also a co-lead for the event, echoed the sentiment, praising the energy and creativity displayed by participants. “It was so amazing to be part of the largest hackathon in the world. We had adults and kids alike join in to create amazing solutions in just one weekend,” she said.
Winning team *Slime Squad* built a website that allows users to track when a LANDSAT satellite will pass overhead, offering a practical application of NASA’s satellite data. Their project was just one example of the innovative ideas brought to life during the event.
This marks the fifth year that the NASA Space Apps Challenge has been held in the Sacramento region, and organizers are already looking forward to future events that could inspire even more groundbreaking solutions.
