We here at Binnovative would like to once again congratulate the many talented individuals that participated in this year’s NASA International Space Apps Challenge (ISAC). As a proud host of the 8-year running challenge here in Boston, we bring together a community of hackers and creatives to participate in ISAC, an international hackathon led and organized each year by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Thousands of individuals of various backgrounds and skill sets took part this year, across nearly 150 different countries and cities across the globe, including right here in Boston!
Due to the pandemic, this is the second year the hackathon has been virtual, opening up the challenge to a much broader audience. During the weekend of October 2-3, we gathered online for NASA ISAC 2021, forming teams to take on various problems proposed by NASA. This year offered some of the most diverse and interesting challenges of any year: discovering science connections with data, identifying risk with science and communities, and the trail to Mars.
After hours and hours of hard work, each team had an opportunity to present the results of their efforts to our judges. The panel was selected to represent the many entrepreneurs and subject matter experts from the Boston/Cambridge community. Each brought a unique perspective to the challenging task of choosing two winners from the eight excellent projects our teams brought to the table.
We offer our utmost congratulations to our local winner: Team Jimmy in the Box! This creative team took on the Webb Origami Design Challenge with their submission, “Where Paper Crafting Meets Electronics and Coding.” They addressed the challenge from multiple angles, including computerized models and demonstrations. Their talent and passion in addressing the proposed challenge impressed the judges, and we’re proud to have team Jimmy in the Box represent our Boston community in the Global Judging for this year’s hackathon.
Second, we’d like to congratulate our second place winner: Team Artist of the future! They took on the challenge Artfully Illuminated Asteroids with their submission, “From Lucy.” The submission consisted of a multi-media stop motion style video, featuring poetry and artistic contributions, highlighting the potential of the Lucy Mission! The talent and ambition demonstrated by the team makes us excited to see what else they can create in the future!
Lastly we’d like to recognize team SPACE Z-kai with an honorable mention, and all of the other teams that participated in the challenge! You all showed tremendous talent and effort, and we’re immensely grateful for your participation. This year may have been the most impressive and successful year of the event yet, and that is in no small part due to the creativity and passion which each and every one of you brought to the table. We hope you will consider participating in future NASA ISAC events here with us at Binnovative.
In our 8th consecutive year hosting the International Space Apps Challenge here in Boston (ISAC Boston), we are grateful for the community that organized, judged, participated, and volunteered again this year! And a special thank you to our sponsors—without you we would have had another year, another resounding success. On behalf of our Binnovative team to the program coordinators at NASA, we thank you and your organization for your kindness and generosity in supporting this annual event, and we look forward to next year!
NASA International Space Apps Challenge Boston 2021 projects
https://2021.spaceappschallenge.org/locations/boston-ma/teams
ISAC Boston 2021 Judges :
Christopher E. Carr (Assistant Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences)
Branden Allen (staff astronomer at the Harvard College Observatory )
Masami Onoda (Director of JAXA Washington D.C. Office, representing the Japanese space agency in the Americas)
Sonya Huang(Technologist at Zus Health. co-founder of Modo labs)
ISAC Boston 2021 Sponsors :
Kintone
Ogawa coffee USA
Toyota USA
Z-kai USA Inc.
Supporter :
Consulate-General of Japan in Boston (在ボストン日本国総領事館)
Space Apps Boston official website