The 2016 edition of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) Space Apps Challenge kicked off at 10am on Friday, April 22^nd, 2016. This annual competition which takes [place in several cities around the world for over 48hours has been highly anticipated, especially here in the city of Jos, which gets to witness and participate in this prestigious challenge for the first time as nHub Nigeria was charged with the important task of being one of the chosen centers to host the challenge.

Day 1 kicked off with several technology enthusiasts such as networkers, programmers, designers, database experts amongst others arriving the hub. Prior to the event, NASA Space Apps Challenge had opened their website for interested parties to register, as a prerequisite to participation. Some of these participants arrived in already existing teams while others were flying solo hoping to find like-minded people to partner with and form their own teams. A general feeling of excitement and slight nervousness could be sensed, as for most of the participants this would be the first time they would participate in an event of this magnitude.

To officially start off the event, the CEO of nHub Nigeria, Mr. David Daser welcomed participants and gave a little background story of the event. There were also addresses from key members of the organizing committee, giving the guidelines governing the event and introducing members of the panel of judges. The panel of judges includes key members of the tech community here on the Plateau. They include:

• Mr. Suleyman Mutuwa; an IT expert in the fields of database administration, networking and programming. He is also a consultant to PICTDA and our guest of honour.
• Mr. Adams Titus M.; a computer scientist whose area of specialization is Computer security and forensics. Also a lecturer at the Plateau State University, Bokkos.
• Dr. Nentawe Gurumdimma, a computer science lecturer at the University of Jos, Plateau State.
• Mr. Emmanuel Dung; an IT expert, developer and programmer who works closely with Mr. Suleyman Mutuwa, the guest of honour.

With these formalities observed, the challenge started in earnest. At this early stage, most teams focus on brainstorming and then dividing the tasks based on the strengths of the team members. Those without teams came together to form new teams and spent most of the day finding out the individual strengths of their team members and learning to work together. A total of ten teams were recorded. The teams include:

1. Team Krystal
2. Team Ivory
3. Team Phoenix
4. Team Frost
5. Team Python
6. Team Community
7. Team Mastermind
8. Team Curiosity
9. Team Physics
10. Team Hack the Rigger

The Space Apps Challenge had made available on their website a list of themes from which the teams could center their projects around. Under these themes were 8 challenges which the Space Apps Challenge organisers felt would play a huge part in solving some of the problems faced in this part of the world. They are listed below:

THEMECHALLENGE

A) Earth1) Geotagging Space and Aviation

2) eMobile Pastoralism

3) Aircheck

4) Earth Live

B) Solar Systems and Beyond5) Book it to the Moon

C) Space Station6) Rock-IT Space Fashion and Design

D) Aeronautics7) Clear for Take-Off

E) Technology8) Origami Space Recycled

After making the rounds and talking to each team, I observed that most of the teams picked challenges under the Earth theme. Incidentally, April 22^nd, the kickoff day of the Space Apps Challenge happened to be World Earth Day. Coincidence? Maybe. But the NASA Space Apps Challenge and the celebration of World Earth Day have something in common; advocating for a better planet and improving the world we live in. 

The day continued with the teams hard at work on their challenges. At about 2pm, there was a lunch break; with meals and drinks provided by the Hub for the participants to refuel. Afterwards, the teams went on with their work, until the end of the day.

Day 2 of the Space Apps Challenge commenced on Saturday 23^rd April, but unlike Day 1, you could feel a sense of purpose and direction amongst the participants, who had gotten rid of first day jitters and were more in the spirit of the challenge. It was with astonishment that I received the news that some of the participants had spent the night at the Hub, taking advantage of the internet service and uninterrupted power supply made available. Such dedication! The day continues much like the previous day with the participants taking time out for lunch, then going back to their work until it was time to go home.

Day 3 of the Space Apps Challenge rolls by with much anticipation and not a little tension, as it signals the end of the competition and when the winning team would be announced. Participants quickly got to work as they were anxious to put finishing touches on their work and be done in time for the presentation later in the day. The hours quickly rolled by and after lunch, it was time for the presentations. Each team came out with a PowerPoints presentation and some also with simulations of what they had worked on. They were all given 5 minutes for their presentations and another five for questions from the judges and question them they did, ensuring that they were very well versed in all aspects of their work. Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived. After the judges had deliberated and the audience had voted for the “Peoples’ Choice Awards”, we were presented with the results. For the Peoples’ Choice Category, Team CURIOSITY emerged winners with a total of 84 points for their work on eMobile Pastoralism and Team PYTHON a close second with 83 points for their work on Geotagging Space and Aviation with an aim of putting notable contributors in the areas of Space and Aviation on the map. The winners of the Space Apps Challenge was announced as Team IVORY with 89 points for their notable work in the Aircheck Challenge and creating an Asteroid Detector using Artificial Intelligence to detect objects that might be headed Earths way and pose a potential threat to the planet. Following closely was Team PHOENIX with 85 points for their spectacular work in the Clear for Takeoff Challenge. They were able to create and present an android app that tackles the problem of predicting delays at airports caused by bad weather. All the teams were then presented certificates of participation and then it was time for pictures. Finally! The much anticipated competition comes to an end, but the memories will be here for a very long time.

Curiosity, python, ivory,phoenix,

Other Outstanding teams and their projects involved:

Team Hack the Rigger- Aircheck: app to check the air quality of our location

Team Mastermind- Mastermind: app to allow conference call between astronauts in space and on earth

Team Physics: eMobile pastoralism- drone to be used to monitor farms and possibly even danger zones by the military.

Team Krystal: SAR (search and rescue) Track suit: track and monitor health vitals of search and rescue personnel.

Sponsors include:

1. smartweb

2. Bluewhales

3. Vicampro

Participants gain automatic membership to nHub training and incubation process to enable them complete their projects.

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nHub’s NASA Space Apps Challenge in its final stages