NASA Opens Registration for Space Apps 2026, a Global Two-Day Hackathon

NASA announced on October 15, 2026, that registration is open for the NASA Space Apps Challenge. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 14, and Sunday, November 15. Over the two days, teams of participants will tackle real-world problems formulated by agency specialists and create solutions inspired by NASA’s exploration goals, using the agency’s free and open data.

The Space Apps Challenge is an annual event often described as a hackathon: an intensive experience in collaboration and problem-solving. You do not need to be a programmer to participate. NASA welcomes people of all ages and experience levels, including students, scientists, engineers, designers, storytellers, technologists, and space enthusiasts. Participants can join one of more than 500 local events, team up, and choose a challenge that interests them.

Three broad areas of exploration

The 2026 challenges are organized around three goals: supporting the return of humans to the Moon, preparing for missions venturing farther into the solar system, and expanding our understanding of the universe. The range of topics connects operational problems for future missions with the analysis and communication of scientific data.

Planning a human presence on the Moon

Several challenges relate to planning lunar missions under the Artemis program and NASA’s plans for a sustained human presence on the Moon. They include analytical tools and operational and human-needs questions, such as operations on the lunar south pole’s surface, managing environmental constraints—for example, sunlight and communication windows—and assessing the logistical and scientific needs of extended stays.

Other challenges involve broader systems models, such as simulations of outpost operations or analysis of astronaut health and safety. These problems reflect some of the complexities involved in planning human activities on the lunar surface.

Preparing for Mars and deep space

NASA’s exploration strategy combines continued robotic exploration of the outer solar system with preparations for future human missions to Mars. Challenges in this area include operational concepts for activities on the Martian surface, integrating data from multiple Mars missions, and design decisions required for deep-space exploration.

The agency also highlights challenges involving long-duration travel, such as tracking physiological and behavioral indicators, and analyzing how scientific and engineering decisions affect mission execution far from Earth. Some challenges also relate to preparation for possible missions to Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Titan, a moon of Saturn, through simulations of design decisions or assessments of analogous environments on Earth.

Making astrophysics data more accessible

Astrophysics challenges aim to improve public access to mission data, create tools for visualizing how the sky changes over time, and broaden participation in the missions’ science products. Among the active missions NASA cites is SPHEREx—the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer—which is conducting an all-sky spectral survey. The agency also mentions the ongoing development and deployment of observatories designed to study cosmic evolution and exoplanet populations—that is, planets beyond the solar system.

How to take part

Registration is available through the NASA Space Apps Challenge website. According to information published by the agency, participants can choose from more than 500 local events, join a team, and select the challenge they want to tackle during the November hackathon. Their work will draw on NASA’s open-data ecosystem, which makes it possible to use information from its missions in collaborative projects.

The call brings together people with diverse backgrounds to work on concrete exploration and science problems, from lunar operations and mission planning to tools for exploring astrophysics data. The event will take place on November 14–15, 2026.