Mary-Louise Hoffman
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is sponsoring a marathon-style event designed to help NASA develop mobile applications and other technology for space program use.
APL and interactive platform developer Bolster Labs will co-host NASA’s platform coding and design contest in the Baltimore-Washington region on April 12 and 13, APL said Thursday.
NASA seeks to encourage technology firms to build software and hardware systems to support space missions through the agency’s incubator program.
“The Space Apps Challenge is an excellent way for the public to address real-world challenges with the data that NASA provides,†said Nate Parsons, an APL program software engineer.
“We’re going to have plenty of space, power and connectivity available for teams to work, and have access to APL scientists and engineers who are leaders in their fields,” Parsons added.
The event will have more than 40 challenges that are categorized into Earth Watch, Robotics, Human Spaceflight, Asteroids and Technology in Space themes, according to APL.
APL says nearly 9,000 participants from 83 cities around the globe produced 770 space exploration platforms during the 2013 competition.
