How Booz Allen Supports NASA's Global Hackathon

Around the world, teams are gathering to use NASA data to address complex challenges in Earth and space science. From space enthusiasts and experts, computer programmers, and data scientists to artists and others with no scientific background whatsoever, Booz Allen is at the heart of bringing them all together.

What goes into putting together the world’s largest annual global hackathon? For Jessica Chau and Amanda Moore, who lead the program on behalf of NASA, it’s a culture of togetherness and a strong mission focus. Here’s what they say goes into building NASA Space Apps and how the annual event highlights the power of data to transform the world. 

Through its extensive satellite constellations, NASA has an enormous trove of diverse data, all freely available to the public. “A big reason why this program exists is to make the public aware that they can access these data sources,” Jessica explains.

During the two-day program, participants of all ages and backgrounds gather at hundreds of local events, in-person and virtually, to address the challenges proposed by NASA subject matter experts.

Challenges vary in topic and complexity, but all are centered around a theme. In 2023, participants used open-source data to “Explore Open Science Together.” In celebration of the Helio Big Year, the 2024 Challenge invites participants to consider the Sun’s influence on Earth and space science.

During the hackathon, NASA Space Apps Challenge participants worldwide develop informational apps or software programs or transform NASA data into artistic visualizations. Following a rigorous judging process, 10 winners are chosen from a pool of global finalists.

The NASA Space Apps Challenge has produced some impressive projects. For example, the AEDES Project won “Best Use of Data” in 2019. The project aims to improve public health response against dengue in the Philippines by predicting dengue cases from climate and digital data, as well as pinpointing possible hotspots from satellite data.

“That project was actually recognized by UNICEF,” Amanda points out.

Another notable project is ASTROGENESIS, which won Best Mission Concept in 2023. The project aims to develop an “innovative tool that will not only create customized itineraries for future space travelers eager to traverse our solar system but also educate and captivate today’s enthusiasts by immersing them in an exhilarating, role-playing space tourism experience.”

Aqua Explorer, another 2023 winner, is “an interactive web-based educational game designed for middle and high school students. It offers an immersive journey into the Earth’s water cycle and its profound relationship with climate change.”

Booz Allen was first entrusted with managing NASA Space Apps in 2018, an important milestone in a relationship with NASA that spans more than 60 years.

As the firm is no stranger to designing, organizing, and executing hackathons, it was able to grow the program significantly. “Booz Allen gave the program some TLC and structure,” Amanda recalls. “Since then, we’ve continued to grow and improve it every year.”

“We fully execute NASA Space Apps on behalf of the agency,” she says, “which includes everything from sourcing the challenges to equipping the community to host the events, plus all the communications campaigns that are behind this. We offer the full suite of support to NASA.”

“We make sure the participants have the right resources,” Jessica adds, “so they know how to register and submit their projects. We also make sure they have a chat platform available during the actual hackathon so participants can communicate with each other and with the subject matter experts.”

“We also handle the three-round judging process, recruiting the judges from NASA and the space agency partners and from the challenge authors,” she continues. Both the challenges and the project submissions receive a lot of scrutiny. “We end up with 10 very strong projects as winners at the end.”

Throughout, the Booz Allen team works with two subcontractors, Mindgrub and SecondMuse. “Both bring something unique,” Amanda continues, “One runs all the web and IT infrastructure, and the other supports community development and engagement. We work as one go-team, which is unique.”

“Building a culture of togetherness is easy to do because everyone is mission-focused, and we all see the value in this program.”

Jessica’s and Amanda’s careers weren’t always focused on space. “I’ve worked in the nonprofit world, the government sector, and the private sector,” Jessica explains. “I have an undergraduate degree in political science and a master's in business administration. I feel like I pull from all of that experience for my work on Space Apps.

Amanda started her career as a contractor, then worked on an Air Force project to “see what else was out there. I came back to NASA after I became a mom, because I knew that NASA and Booz Allen combined was the most family-friendly option for me.”

Their varied backgrounds reflect the overall ethos of The NASA Space Apps Challenge: All are welcome.

“We usually get a lot of space and science enthusiasts,” Jessica says, “but also people with no science background at all. We want everyone to feel welcomed and a lot of times it's the first taste of the hackathon world for the participants. If they come from an arts background or business background, they’re often amazed at how much they can contribute because teams need a variety of skills to build a strong project.”

The hackathon is open to people of all backgrounds and ages. “We’ve had elementary school students do the hackathon and even win, which propels them to get excited and motivated to explore a career in space or science,” Jessica adds.

“When they come together, they learn that they can really produce something that’s impressive.”