“Learn, Launch, Lead”: this is the theme chosen this year by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to launch its worldwide call for the Space Apps Challenge, the largest annual hackathon on the planet dedicated to space and science.
Italian fans of the exploration of the universe and the new opportunities generated by the Space Economy will be able to take part live in Turin: on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, will host the ninth edition of the local event in the city, funded by Regione Piemonte with resources from the European Social Fund Plus and organized in collaboration with the ESA BIC Turin incubation program, managed by I3P.
The international event will take place simultaneously, globally, with free participation. The hackathon is based on the choice of a challenge to be tackled as a group to produce open source solutions that could potentially be adopted for real, or that could turn into the project behind new innovative start-ups, the kind of young companies that I3P has been accompanying and supporting for more than 25 years, also through ESA BIC Turin since 2021.
The local hackathon
In Turin, Space Apps 2025 will be held in person at the I3P business incubator, located within the Campus of Politecnico di Torino, starting at 2 PM on Saturday 4 October, with the reception of the registered participants and the composition or confirmation of the teams taking part in the hackathon. The competition will start at 4 PM and will continue for 24 hours, without interruption, to allow maximum time to work on the project, which must be delivered by 4 PM on Sunday 5 October.
For the participating teams will then begin the pitch phase, in which they will have to present their work in just a few minutes to all those present, including the judging panel, thus competing for the prizes, both at local level - the Local Awards offered by I3P's partner sponsors - and possibly later at international level (Global Awards). The hackathon will conclude with an awards ceremony for the most interesting and promising projects from Turin, which could continue their adventure, one day, in the form of start-ups.
Globally, the initiative has the support of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the European Space Agency (ESA), and many leading international space agencies. Locally, the Turin hackathon will be able to count on several sponsors, mentors and jurors from the aerospace industry, innovative start-ups and SMEs, and prestigious bodies and associations supporting the Italian space sector.
The Local Awards
The local edition in Turin will offer the opportunity to win four prizes for the most interesting and promising projects presented at the end of the hackathon at I3P:
The first prize in the competition, worth €1,000 in vouchers, is sponsored by RINA, multinational group of engineering consulting, inspection, and certification. The award will be presented by the Space Apps Turin 2025 jury to the team that submits the project deemed best among all those developed during the local hackathon, according to the global evaluation criteria specified by NASA.
The second prize for the Turin edition, worth €500 in vouchers, will be offered by ESA BIC Turin, the incubation program run by I3P in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Politecnico di Torino and LINKS Foundation. In awarding this prize, consideration will be given to the entrepreneurial potential of the projects presented and which one in particular would have the greatest chance of evolving into an innovative start-up in the future.
The special prize titled “Argotec SpacePark Award”, sponsored by Argotec, consists of an exclusive experience: a guided tour of the SpacePark in San Mauro Torinese (Turin), a hub of aerospace technology and innovation, where satellites are designed and manufactured, and from which operations are carried out once they are in orbit. Participants will follow a unique path that takes them from the Clean Room, where satellites take shape, to the technological core of the Central Hub, and finally to the Mission Control Center, where space missions are monitored. It will be a journey behind the scenes of space innovation, to discover how a mission comes to life: from the manufacturing of the satellite to its daily control in orbit.
The special prize titled “Thales Alenia Space Award”, offered by Thales Alenia Space, consists of an exclusive visit to the company's site in Turin, one of the few places in the world where inhabited modules for astronauts are built. The winners of the prize will have the opportunity to enter the clean rooms, discover how modules for commercial stations and lunar missions are produced, observe the test ground for lunar and Martian rovers, and visit the mockup of the future European module orbiting the Moon. It will be a day in the life of an astronaut, allowing participants to see firsthand how closely Turin is linked to space.
How to join the challenge
No specific qualifications or previous experience are required: only creativity, teamwork and complementarity of skills will be essential to tackle the challenges of preference. The hackathon is open to contributions from everyone, with no limitations related to educational background, occupation or geographical affiliation.
The NASA Space Apps Challenge is also open to all ages; however, participants who are under the age of 18 must be registered for the event by a parent or legal guardian and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times during the event.
To participate in the Turin hackathon, it is necessary to register on the dedicated webpage, after signing up with a personal profile on the official NASA Space Apps website.
