RiverHacks <> NASA Space Apps Challenge 2026

about this event

RiverHacks × NASA Space Apps Challenge is back! Part of the World's Largest Global Space & Science Hackathon. Now on the 2026 edition with the theme: "The Next Frontier". 📍 Austin Community College – Rio Grande Campus (1212 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX 78701, Building 1000). 🗃 November 14–15th, 2026.

Our website: http://riverhacks-spaceapps.org/ Get ready to explore space, build with purpose, and make your mark at RiverHacks × NASA Space Apps Challenge — Austin's most exciting space & science hackathon for students, storytellers, and future explorers. Whether you're a College Student, K–12 student, an educator, an engineer, or a dreamer, this two-day in-person experience connects curious minds from across Central Texas to solve real-world problems using open NASA data.

One Project: Two Hackathon Experience. Whether you dive into NASA's global challenges or our RiverHacks "Build something great" challenge, or both... the countdown is on.

Official NASA Space Apps Global Challenge Track - 2026 CHALLENGES LINK - tinyurl.com/joinatxspaceapps. Explore past 2025 Challenges here: https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/2025/challenges/. Start practicing on one of the 18 official 2025 challenges using real open data from NASA and its international space partners. NASA Open datasets: https://data.nasa.gov/.

RiverHacks 2026 One Main Challenge: "Build Something Great!" These challenges do not require NASA datasets, making them perfect for creative, interdisciplinary, or beginner-friendly teams. The hackathon format this year was changed to keep it simple and practical for RiverHacks participants. Get ideas flowing with these 8 optional inspiration paths: 1. Mind of the Astronaut – Mental health, nutrition, rest, routines. 2. On-Ship Ecosystem – Water, waste, food system software. 3. AI for Space – Mission coordination & exploration AI. 4. Space Fitness – Movement & recreation beyond Earth. 5. Space Search Engines – ISS-friendly public data search. 6. Spacesuit with AR – Navigation & daily routine support for lunar missions. 7. Get inspired by the 2025-2026 NASA Space Apps Challenge. 8. Practice a Bold Innovation in Search & AI (Open to any innovations related to the hackathon theme: "The Next Frontier"). --Compete in both hackathons with one single project--.

Prizes & Judging: 💰 RiverHacks Top 3 Overall: 🥇 1st Place: $3000. 🥈 2nd Place: $1,500. 🥉 3rd Place: $500. 🤖 Bold Innovation in Search & AI Award: A special jury will select multiple winners and they will decide how to allocate the $5000 across the teams that meet the required bold innovations! NASA Space Apps winners get global recognition and the ABILITY TO PASS TO NASA GLOBAL WINNING AWARDS.

Judging Criteria: RiverHacks Projects will be evaluated on: Technical Depth & Innovation – Complexity, originality, completeness. Value & Impact – Problem understanding, relevance, feasibility. Build Quality & UX – Reliability, clarity, accessibility, documentation. Presentation & Communication – Storytelling, explanation, live demo. NASA Space Apps Projects will be evaluated on: Project Potential Impact (Does it address a major or a minor problem? To what extent does it inspire others?), Creativity (Does it demonstrate innovation? Novel Concept? Does it improve something in a meaningful way?), Relevance (Does the project address the challenge? Does it integrate NASA resources well?), Presentation (Does it convey solution, structure and propose a compelling idea to the audience?).

Key Dates: NASA Registrations opens on Aug 26, 2026. NASA Track Reveal → September 17: Challenge Summaries Release → October 28: Full Challenge Statements. Team Formation → Form your team of 6 people. No team? No problem. Event Begins → November 14th @ 9:00 AM CST, you can form your teams on the spot and organizers will help you out.

What to Expect: Solve official NASA challenges or build from bold, original RiverHacks main challenge: Build something great! Work with real open datasets. Free meals, snacks, swag, and mentorship. Diverse teams, no experience required. Prizes, recognition, and global visibility.

RiverHacks <> NASA Space Apps is powered by SerpApi. SerpApi is the Title Partner. This local Austin-based company provides a real-time API to access Google and so many other search results providers. They handle proxies, solve captchas, and parse all rich structured JSON data for you. Participants will have access to free credits for the tool! For FREE API credits, visit: https://serpapi.com/search-engine-apis.

The organizers are looking for more sponsors. Sponsor tiers flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14MeobzzVha0luoRpQjlkobB8TLWZ7YjC/view?usp=sharing. Title Sponsor: SerpApi (https://serpapi.com/), hiring at https://serpapi.com/careers and offering free API credits! Platinum Sponsor: TBD. Gold Sponsor: TBD. Silver Sponsor: TBD. Bronze Sponsors: TBD. Email at stefano.casafrancalaos@austincc.edu.

Join the mission. Think big. Build bold. With wonderful collaborators like Austin Community College, ACM at ACC, FANG Robotics, Loop Message, and a special thanks to CGCS (Center for Government and Civic Service) for providing such an amazing venue in the heart of Austin, TX. Register now to secure your spot. 200 Max Capacity.

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