Note. Two changes that outdate most descriptions of this competition, including older versions of this listing. First, the robots are now NASA's Astrobee free-flyers, not the SPHERES satellites, which Astrobee replaced. Second, and more significant: the Finals are no longer run aboard the International Space Station by an astronaut. For the 2026 season MIT stated that Finals would instead use ISS robotic analogs, running student code live on physical robots including drones and underwater vehicles in a space-relevant ground testbed. If the ISS element is why you want to enter, know this before committing a season.
Zero Robotics
Write code that controls a real satellite aboard the International Space Station.
Run by Massachusetts Institute of Technology with NASA
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
The High School Tournament is for grades 9 to 12. A separate Middle School Program runs in the summer. not yet checked against the official source
Source note: the only reference found for this was a third-party listing or encyclopedia, not the organiser. Eligibility must come from the organiser, so this is marked unconfirmed until a first-party page confirms it.Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Eligible ages
-
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.Source note: the only reference found for this was a third-party listing or encyclopedia, not the organiser. Eligibility must come from the organiser, so this is marked unconfirmed until a first-party page confirms it.Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Individual or team
- Team · Teams of 5 to 20 students with a primary mentor. European Space Agency teams beyond 10 students must justify the larger team in their application. Advisor registration is the only step required at registration time: student names are collected later in the season, after registration closes.
- Where it runs
- Online · United States, Europe, International partners
- Entry cost
- FreeNo registration or competition fees at any stage; MIT, NASA and the ISS National Lab sponsor the programme. Travel to the Finals is the only likely cost.
- Registration deadline
- Set locally, not published as a single national date 2027 dates not published; the only tournament listed as active at the time of checking was the 2026 Middle School Program. For reference, 2026 high school registration ran to 21 November 2025, and the Middle School Program has used a 1 May registration deadline.
- Competition dates
- Simulation rounds through autumn, with the ISS final in winter.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- Code executed aboard the International Space StationMedals, trophies and individual recognition awards rather than cash prizes.
What Zero Robotics is
Zero Robotics is a programming competition where student teams write control algorithms for free-flying robotic satellites. Early rounds run in a simulator; finalists have their code run on actual hardware aboard the International Space Station, with astronauts overseeing the match and the results streamed live. There are few competitions where student code executes in orbit.
How the competition works
Teams write autonomous code for Astrobee in a simulation environment that mimics the real robots, then advance through phases of virtual competition. The 2026 challenge, Galactic Greenhouse, required programming Astrobee to run a vegetable-growth system aboard the station: planting, watering on schedule, harvesting and clearing failed plants, while allocating time efficiently, prioritising tasks dynamically and responding to crew instructions given by hand gesture. The high school track emphasises strategy, multi-objective optimisation and robust autonomy under uncertainty.
Eligibility notes
The high school tournament runs in autumn. A separate middle school summer programme runs in partnership with local organisations. Availability varies by country and region.
How to register
- Check the official site for the current season and whether your region is participating.
- Register a team with a teacher or mentor as the point of contact.
- Work through the tutorials in the browser-based simulator, which requires no installation.
- Compete in the simulation rounds on the published schedule.
What skills you need
- C or C++ programming
- Control algorithms
- Physics of motion without gravity
- Optimisation under constraints
- Collaborative code review
Recommended resources
-
Zero Robotics official site
Registration, the browser simulator, tutorials and the tournament schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need any hardware?
No. Everything runs in a browser-based simulator, and only the finalists' code runs on the real satellites, which is handled by the organisers and NASA.
Is it available outside the United States?
It has run with European and other international partners, but regional availability has varied between seasons. Check the official site for the current year.
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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