Act In Space Luxembourg 2020 To Take Off In November

The international IT hackathon lands in Luxembourg again. Around 50 participants are expected to compete in around 50 challenges and boost technological innovation in space.

Photo: The “Configure test a DIY lunar rover” challenge has been initiated by the SnT / Credits © Shutterstock

Act In Space (AIS) completes its two-year anniversary and returns to the Grand Duchy this fall. The hackathon is organized by InTech, an IT services company and subsidiary of Post Luxembourg. This third edition will take place at Technoport, the technology business incubator in Belval, on 13 and 14 November 2020.

The international event is a joint initiative of the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It aims to foster and enforce entrepreneurial and innovative management practices by offering a game-based learning experience.

50 participants to tackle 50 challenges

The hackathon is open to developers, space-related professionals and university/doctoral students in fields including science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics, business, medical, design and behavioral sciences. The competition, which this year includes candidates from the Greater Region, is limited to 50 participants, or 10 teams of 2 to 5 people.

DIY lunar rover-challenge

This edition, the “Configure test a DIY lunar rover” challenge, has been initiated by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), along with the Space Robotics Research Group from the University of Luxembourg.

“The challenge consists in conceptualizing an application that allows the configuration of rovers to find resources on the moon. A specific prize is dedicated to this challenge,” explains Eric Tschirhart, professor of physiology at Luxembourg University.

Project proposals will be reviewed by the Luxembourg LunaLab. The best team with a valid moon rover for the mission of finding ice on the moon, will receive a DIY kit and remotely test the rover at the Luxembourg LunaLab.

Pre-event informational webinars

The next pre-event webinar will be organized on 28th October. These will provide information on the contest, space entrepreneurship topics and event logistics. Registration is already open.

Prizes

Each participating country organizes a national hackathon. The winning team will join the international finals in Toulouse, in January or February 2021.

Act In Space Luxembourg prizes
  • 1st Prize: Each member of the winning team will receive an iPad from POST Luxembourg. They will also take part at the Act In Space International Final at the Toulouse Space Show and compete for the international first prize.
  • Entrepreneurship Prize: The AIS-Luxembourg winning team will receive €50.000 from the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) to create a startup in Luxembourg and bring the concept to market. The team shall however concretely create a startup in the Grand-Duchy.
  • Intellectual Property Prize: Each member of the winning team will receive a €400-voucher from the Institut de la Propriété Intellectuelle Luxembourg (IPIL).
  • Act in Space 1st International Grand Prize: The winning team of ActInSpace’s international finals in Toulouse will be awarded with a weightlessness astronaut experience on the Zero-G Airbus A310 parabolic flight.
  • Coaches & Jury: The jury includes industry experts and professionals from the Luxembourg Space and Tech Innovation Ecosystem and Research Institutions. The list is due to be issued soon.
  • Event participation, location and agenda: click here.

Launched in 2016 by CNES, the French government space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), co-organised by the European Space Agency (ESA) since 2016, ActinSpace is an international innovation contest.

The objective is to foster entrepreneurship, encourage startup creation and promote the use of space technologies and space acquired data to change citizen’s lives. Participants tackle challenges based on space technologies, data, patents and infrastructures.

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