Making Space & Breaking Records: Space Apps 2022
Space Apps by the Numbers
The 2022 NASA International Space Apps Challenge made history with a record-breaking number of 31,561 registered participants this year, making it the largest Space Apps Challenge to date. This year, participants gathered from 162 countries and territories to kick off the Welcome to Space Apps 2022 premiere on September 30 and then got to work during the hackathon on October 1-2. The Space Apps community celebrated this year’s theme of “Make Space” by creating 5,327 teams of various ages, backgrounds, interests, and skill sets. These teams tackled 22 challenges and created 3,094 projects!
Space Agency Partners
Space Apps collaborated with 11 Space Agency Partners this year, including two new Space Agency Partners: the Indian Space Research Organization and Mexican Space Agency. The Space Agency Partners returning from last year included the Australian Space Agency, Brazilian Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, ESA (European Space Agency), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, National Space Activities Commission of Argentina, National Space Science Agency of Bahrain, Paraguayan Space Agency, and the South African National Space Agency. This global group of Space Agency Partners enabled greater global reach into communities and increased access to space and science opportunities by providing free and open data and expertise.
Global Impact
With the support of the global group of 11 Space Agency Partners, Space Apps represented more countries around the globe than ever before! This year, the countries with the most registered participants were India, Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, and Pakistan, similar to Space Apps 2021, when India, Egypt, and Brazil led registered participants. Each year, Space Apps strives to engage people from all over the world, and this year we are so excited to see tremendous growth in registered participation from Turkey and Pakistan.
To honor the global Space Apps community, the first ever Space Apps Global Live event showcased Space Apps Challenge events from all around the globe including Madrid, Spain; Pretoria, South Africa; and New York City, U.S.A. The Global Live event featured Local Leads, the Global Organizing Team, and Space Apps Challenge teams in action, including local pitching and judging. This event also included special features from the South African Space Agency and therapy dogs for the New York City Space Apps participants! Space Apps continues to connect with this global community through social media, and in 2022 it generated a reach of over 755 million mentions on various social platforms.
Space Apps Community Support
Local Leads hosted 323 Local Events that brought individuals from their communities together to form teams and prototype solutions during the two-day hackathon. Local Leads organize events in their local communities by recruiting participants, and help guide participants throughout their hackathon journeys, either in person or virtually. This year’s Universal Event — which had 4,005 registrants — served those who wanted to participate but did not have a Local Event in their city. The Universal Event allows Space Apps Challenge participation to be even more inclusive and increases space and science opportunities in cities around the world.
The Space Apps community extends beyond those participating in the hackathon. It also includes the 144 NASA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and 29 Space Apps Navigators. SMEs and Space Apps Navigators volunteered their time to help answer questions about the 22 challenges, and provided encouragement and guidance during the hackathon. Every year, the dedication and support from our SMEs and Space Apps Navigators is incredible. To help increase accessibility and advance participant projects, there were 8 Global Offers and 14 Amplification Collaborators who amplified Space Apps to diverse networks to ensure that the opportunity to participate was equitable, inclusive, and accessible to all communities.
Thank You!
Thank you to our incredible Space Apps community and participants for making our 11th year so special. Every year, we are blown away by the energy, innovation, and collaboration you dedicate to solving challenges on Earth and in space. We appreciate all of the participants, our Space Agency Partners, Local Leads, SMEs, Navigators, Global Offers, and Amplification Collaborators. We can’t thank you enough! Thank you for making history with us and joining us on our journey to “Make Space” for everyone. We hope to see you all for Space Apps 2023 on October 7-8, 2023!
Space Apps 2022 is not over yet! Stay tuned for the 2022 Global Winners live announcement on December 8, 2022, at 1 p.m. ET, when we will announce the 10 Global Awards on our Space Apps social platforms. Stay connected with us for the latest Global Winner updates and to find out who the special speakers will be at this live event!
