NASA Space Apps Challenge Reaches Record 114,000 Participants in 2025
The 2025 NASA Space Apps Challenge drew more than 114,000 registered participants, marking the largest turnout in the global hackathon’s history.
The 2025 event involved 18,860 teams across 551 Local Events in 167 countries and territories. Participants submitted 11,511 projects in response to challenges built around NASA data, with support from 14 space agency partners, 124 subject matter experts and 78 programme navigators.
NASA Space Apps began in 2012 with around 2,000 participants attending 25 events in 17 countries. Since then, the initiative has recorded more than 487,000 registrations, hosted over 3,400 Local Events and reached more than 190 countries and territories.
The programme saw a major rise in engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when NASA added the Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge alongside the annual event. Participation has continued to grow, culminating in the 2025 record.
Originally centred on space science and technology, the challenge expanded in 2017 after moving under NASA’s Earth Science Division. It now includes Earth and space science topics alongside technology, arts and humanities-based challenges.
Local Leads remain central to the event’s delivery. They organise in-person and virtual events for their cities and communities, helping participants form teams, work with NASA data and submit solutions for judging.
