NASA Space Apps Challenge Lucerne 2025

Overview

Our team participated in the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025 in Lucerne, Switzerland - a global hackathon where teams tackle challenges using NASA's open data. After an intense 48-hour development sprint, we were thrilled to be selected as the local winners and global nominees.

The NASA Space Apps Challenge is one of the world's largest hackathons, bringing together thousands of participants globally to use space agency data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space.

Our Solution: PlanIt

Our Solution: PlanIt

We developed PlanIt, a platform designed to bridge the gap between complex environmental data and community-driven urban planning.

The platform is built around two core pillars:

Informing through Data: PlanIt ingests NASA and ESA Earth observation data to visualize critical urban health metrics,such as heat islands, air quality, and vegetation density, on an intuitive, user-friendly map. This empowers non-technical users to "see" the environmental reality of their neighborhoods without needing data science expertise. Enabling Collaboration: Beyond just displaying data, PlanIt serves as a digital town square. It allows city planners, policymakers, and citizens to discuss the data directly within the platform, propose interventions, and collaboratively plan infrastructure projects before they are built.

The Experience

Participating in the NASA Space Apps Challenge was an incredible learning experience. Working under time pressure with a talented team, we learned to make quick decisions, iterate rapidly, and present our ideas effectively to judges.

The event brought together space enthusiasts, developers, designers, and scientists, creating an inspiring environment of collaboration and innovation. Winning the local challenge was a testament to our team's hard work, creativity, and technical skills.

Impact & Recognition

Being recognized as local winners at NASA Space Apps Challenge Lucerne validated our approach and innovation. The project showcased how space data can be applied to solve city planning challenges and contributed to the global conversation about Earth Observation data accessibility.

The experience strengthened our skills in rapid prototyping, teamwork under pressure, and presenting technical solutions to diverse audiences.