Paused. NASA states: 'The ADC is on pause for 2026 and might return in 2027. Please check back in August 2027 for any updates on the possibility of a new ADC.' There is no 2026-27 challenge to enter. This listing is kept so anyone searching for it gets an accurate answer.
NASA App Development Challenge
NASA App Development Challenge (ADC)
Build software against a real NASA mission problem, free, with winning teams meeting NASA engineers.
Run by NASA
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
Not confirmed. Check the organiser's rules before entering.Not confirmed for any current cycle. NASA's most recent page lists grade levels as 'High School and Community College', while the FY25 handbook described middle and high school teams. The previously listed grades 6 to 12 should not be relied on.
- Eligible ages
-
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.NASA publishes no age limits for this challenge.
- Individual or team
- Team · Not confirmed
- Where it runs
- Online · United States
- Entry cost
- FreeWas free while running. Not confirmed for any future cycle.
- Registration deadline
- Set locally, not published as a single national date No current cycle. NASA advises checking back in August 2027.
- Competition dates
- Challenge released in autumn, submissions in winter, winners announced and recognised in spring.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- Recognition and direct interaction with NASA engineersPast top teams were invited to Johnson Space Center. Not applicable while paused.
What NASA App Development Challenge is
The NASA App Development Challenge gives student teams a real problem drawn from a current NASA mission, such as visualising lunar terrain for Artemis landing site selection, and a few months to build a working software solution. It is free, open to US middle and high school students, and the winning teams are invited to interact directly with NASA engineers at a NASA centre.
How the competition works
NASA releases the challenge in the autumn with a technical brief and datasets. Teams of any size with an educator sponsor build a software solution and submit it with a video demonstration by the winter deadline. NASA engineers review submissions, and top teams are recognised and invited to a culminating experience with mission personnel.
Eligibility notes
Open to US students, including home school and informal education groups, with an educator sponsor. Check the current challenge's eligibility, which has varied.
Is NASA App Development Challenge right for you?
- Experience needed
- Real programming experience. This is a build challenge with a technical specification, not an ideas competition.
- Time commitment
- A few months of team work from autumn to winter.
- What you actually do
- You read a technical brief written by NASA engineers, work with real mission data, and build software that meets a specification, then demonstrate it on video.
A good fit if
- Your team can already build software
- You want to work against a real specification rather than an open brief
- You want direct contact with practising engineers
Probably not for you if
- Beginners with no programming experience
- Students who want an individual competition
Common mistakes
- Building something impressive that does not meet the brief. Judging follows the specification closely.
- Leaving the video until the last night. It is how engineers assess whether your software actually works.
- Underestimating the data work, which is usually the hardest part of the challenge.
How to register
- Find an educator sponsor, which can be a teacher, club leader or home school parent.
- Register the team on the NASA challenge page when the challenge opens in the autumn.
- Read the technical brief carefully. It specifies exactly what the software must do and how it is judged.
- Build the solution and submit it with a video demonstration before the winter deadline.
What skills you need
- Software development in any language
- Working with real scientific datasets
- 3D visualisation or data processing depending on the challenge
- Technical documentation
- Video demonstration
Recommended resources
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NASA App Development Challenge
Current challenge brief, datasets, rules and past winners.
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NASA open data portal
Free access to NASA datasets, useful for practice and for the challenge itself.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- Past challenge briefs and winning submissions
NASA publishes past challenges and recognises winning teams publicly.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost anything?
No. The challenge, the datasets and the technical briefs are all free, and there is no entry fee. The only requirement is an educator sponsor.
What languages can we use?
Any. The brief specifies what the software must do, not how to build it, and past winning teams have used a wide range of languages and frameworks.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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