NASA Announces International Space Apps Competition

NASA is announcing the International Space Apps Competition to support the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which President Barack Obama announced Tuesday. The challenge will culminate with a two-day event next year that will provide an opportunity for government to use the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of citizen explorers to help address global challenges.

During the event, NASA representatives and officials from international space agencies will gather with scientists and citizens to use publicly-released scientific data to create solutions for issues, such as weather impact on the global economy and depletion of ocean resources.

“The competition embraces the concept of ‘open innovation’ to improve performance, inform decision-making, encourage entrepreneurship, and solve problems more effectively,” said Nick Skytland of NASA’s Open Government Initiative.

The OGP is a new, multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies. NASA’s participation in the United States Domestic Plan will promote innovation through international collaboration.

NASA is a leader in the U.S. Open Government Initiative. The president’s FY 2012 budget request focuses NASA’s efforts on a vigorous path of innovation and technological development. The path leads to an array of challenging and inspiring missions to destinations with an incredible potential for discovery, increasing knowledge about our solar system, developing technologies to improve life on Earth, expanding our presence in space, increasing space commerce, and engaging the public.

To learn more about the International Space Apps Competition, visit: http://open.nasa.gov/appschallenge

To learn more about the Open Government Partnership, visit: http://www.opengovpartnership.org/