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NASA has a long history with open innovation, inviting the public to participate in the agency’s scientific and technical explorations.  Within the Applied Sciences Program, we crowdsource ideas, technologies, scientific advances, and other “solutions” from people around the world through incentivized competitions called prizes and challenges. By opening our missions and questions, we multiply the number of people sharing interdisciplinary knowledge and collaborating to tackle challenges together – all increasing the likelihood of generating practical and effective solutions our planet’s toughest problems. 

We partner with other federal agencies, international space agencies, and private organizations to host competitions, sharing focused, defined problems, or “challenges, and awarding cash prizes, recognition, and other incentives for winning solutions. Prizes and challenges allow us to reach people with diverse backgrounds, skillsets, and experiences, and bring out-of-discipline perspectives and tools to the table. You can participate in hackathons, like the annual International Space Apps Challenge and prize competitions, like the Deep Space Food Challenge. We encourage you to experiment with novel ideas and approaches to catalyze new discoveries and technology development for tomorrow.

Please check the opportunities below and join us in accelerating Earth science applications for global benefits.

The Prizes and Challenges Program is managed by Open Innovation and Community Applications Manager, Shobhana Gupta, MD, PhD.