The South African leg of the 2014 International Space Apps Challenge, recently hosted by mLab Southern Africa in collaboration with Vodacom, is a great example of what can be done as a country to develop citizen science and technology participation with a view to solving local socio-economic problems.
The idea of a Challenge is so compelling because it acknowledges the fact that the world is facing serious challenges - and that we all have to work together to solve them.

“The 2014 NASA International Space Apps Challenge, also known as Space Apps, brought together some of the country’s most innovative technology students and entrepreneurs from different backgrounds, and provided them with a platform to collaborate and thereby create functional science and technology apps,” explains Derrick Kotze, CEO of mLab Southern Africa. The teams worked tirelessly over 24 hours to develop open source solutions to promote space science as a means to address global needs applicable to both life on earth and in space. The Challenge took place in 94 locations around the world and online, and participants were asked to solve 65 challenges aligned with NASA’s missions along the following five themes: Earth Watch, Technology in Space, Human Spaceflight, Robotics and Asteroids.

“Science and Technology development amongst youth in South Africa has the potential to address some of the country’s current challenges, such as unemployment and rural development,” says Kotze. “We are really proud of the three teams selected as local competition winners. They have given us a glimpse of how science and technology innovation can be used to benefit the country.” The three local winning teams, who progressed to the International Round of the Space Apps Challenge, include Team WetlandTrackr, Team Earth Quiz and Team Space Me. Sipho Ngwenya, a 34-year-old ICT entrepreneur, participated in the challenge as part of the team SpaceME. “As young business owners, there are vast opportunities in South Africa to use science and technology as a way to solve economic and social challenges we are faced with,” says Sipho. “I saw the Space Apps Challenge at mLab as a fantastic opportunity for my co-creator and I to put all our creative ideas into practice, while networking with other space science enthusiasts. Our team, SpaceME, the People’s Choice Award recipient, developed a simple but exciting game where the player ventures into space to discover whether there is possibility of life out there. The aim is to have people from all over the world participate and contribute to the project with creative ideas on how to whether there is life beyond earth. Players can also contribute by creating a unique spaceship as a character in the game.”

During the global judging round, a panel of NASA judges will select winners from each of the five finalist categories. Each of the finalists will be reviewed based on a short project description, a 30 second video and project page links. MLab Southern Africa is at the forefront of citizen science and technology development particularly amongst youth who share a passion for space science and technology. Together with its partners, mLab Southern Africa is committed to contribute to science and technology development in South Africa by mentoring and supporting existing and upcoming entrepreneurs wanting to develop mobile technology solutions. Visit mLab’s website www.mLab.co.za for more information on the 2014 International Space Apps Challenge.