From October 18-20, Atlantic Canada for the first time will become part of the worldwide, student-borne think tank for space known as the “NASA International Space Apps Challenge”. At the challenge, students will have the opportunity to create technology using real data acquired by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Dalhousie’s University’s Shiftkey Labs will host this free 48-hour “hackathon” together with the Dalhousie Space Systems Lab, SuperNOVA and Emera IdeaHub. The four presenters of the Space Apps Challenge during the weekend will be the directors and managers of these groups, all who bring with them experience in innovative technologies and environments. 

Over a two-day period, student teams work with mentors, spawning new and innovative applications from NASA and CSA data in nine different critical areas. These include asteroid data, RADARSAT-1 data, ocean/coastal data, exoplanets, and even the moon, amongst others. 

The event’s sponsors who call Nova Scotia their home include LIXAR, Engineers Nova Scotia, Intertalk, Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association, Dalhousie University, Digital Nova Scotia, Venture Canada, Nova Scotia Business Inc. and MDA. These prestigious sponsors aren’t just contributing financially to the hackathon, they will also provide mentorship to the students, crucial connections to the industry and serve as judges of each of the team’s final product. 

Although registration is currently full, those interested can enter onto the waitlist. To register, simply go to the Space Apps webpage, click register, and find Halifax, Nova Scotia on the NASA Space Apps location list. You will need to login or register in order to sign up. 

For your convenience and to find out more about the Halifax Space Apps Challenge, please visit https://halifaxspaceapps.dalorbits.ca/. They can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Published September 17th, 2019