Location
May 6-8: Remote
May 9: UATX Campus
522 N Congress Ave, 3rd Floor
L
72-Hour Hackathon
Start Time: May 6, 4:00pm
End Time: May 9, 4:00pm
Event schedule
4:00–4:20 PM
Opening & Framing
Mission, expectations, and judging criteria
4:20–4:40 PM
Data & Tools Orientation
Datasets, workflows, and technical guidance.
4:40–9:00 PM
Team Working Session
Refine problem, dataset selection, and output format
9:00 PM
🏁 Proposal Deadline (Required)
Teams submit:
Problem statement
Approach
Expected output
GitHub repository link (initialized, private)
12:00 PM
🏁 Video Log #1 Deadline (Required)
60–90 second update covering:
What you are building
Progress so far
Next steps or blockers
12:00–6:00 PM
Build Phase
Independent work + optional mentor office hours
6:00 PM
🏁 Checkpoint #1 (Required)
Teams must demonstrate:
Active GitHub repository (code/data work started)
Confirmed dataset and analysis direction
12:00 PM
🏁 Video Log #2 Deadline (Required)
60–90 second update covering:
Current progress
Emerging insights
Remaining challenges
12:00–6:00 PM
Refine Phase
Independent work + optional mentor office hours
6:00 PM
🏁 Checkpoint #2 (Required)
Teams must submit:
Preliminary results (figures, outputs, or findings)
Draft structure of final README / BioBrief
10:00–10:15 AM
Onsite Kickoff
Final instructions and submission requirements
10:15 AM–4:00 PM
Final Build Sprint
Teams finalize analysis, outputs, and documentation
4:00 PM
🏁 FINAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE
(Hard Stop)
Teams must submit:
Public GitHub repository (made public at deadline)
README with clear narrative (BioBrief format)
All figures, outputs, and supporting materials
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
Judging (Private)
Evaluation by an expert panel. Teams remain available onsite for clarification (no formal presentations).
Judging room is private. Teams should participate in the program below.
4:00 PM-5:00 PM
Snack & Beverage Hour
A brief decompression period following submission.
5:30 PM-5:50 PM
Decentralizing Access to Space: Building New Pathways with SERA
In this session, Blue Origin Astronaut Victor Hespanha introduces the work of Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) and its approach to broadening participation in human spaceflight. He outlines how SERA is creating new pathways for aspiring astronauts around the world, lowering barriers to entry and rethinking how individuals engage with space missions.
The talk also highlights SERA’s competition platform, which enables students to design and send scientific experiments to space, creating direct opportunities to contribute to research beyond Earth. Through these initiatives, Hespanha presents a model for expanding access to spaceflight while connecting education, research, and global participation.
Delivered as a focused session, the talk offers a clear view into how new institutional approaches are opening the frontier to a wider set of participants.
Victor Hespanha
Astronaut, Blue Origin NS-21
5:50 PM-6:10 PM
An Inside Look at Johnson Space Center and the Artemis II Mission
Christine Wang
Program Manager, NASA Johnson Space Center
6:10 PM-6:40 PM
From Aspiration to Action: The Discipline of Making the Impossible Real
In this session, Blue Origin Astronaut Eiman Jahangir shares a focused reflection on pursuing ambitious goals and the practical steps required to make them a reality. Drawing on themes from his book A Heart for Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible , he explores how vision is translated into action through sustained effort and intentional decision-making.
Delivered as a 15-minute talk, the session is followed by an open Q&A, offering participants the opportunity to engage directly on the process of taking on and accomplishing difficult challenges.
Eiman Jahangir, MD
Astronaut, Blue Origin NS-26
