Facatativá and Chía will host the NASA Space Apps Challenge, the world's largest scientific hackathon.

From October 2 to 5, 2025, the municipalities of Facatativá and Chía will be among the venues for the NASA Space Apps Challenge Cundinamarca, the world's largest scientific and technological hackathon, led by the U.S. space agency and present in more than 160 countries.

This year, the event will be held in a hybrid format. The in-person venue will be the Colegio Empresarial Los Andes in Facatativá , where teams and judges will gather to experience the event firsthand.

The NASA Space Apps Challenge is an event that invites students, teachers, professionals, and science enthusiasts to form teams of at least four and a maximum of six members, who can participate in one of three categories:

This two-day event fosters innovation through international collaboration, giving participants the opportunity to use NASA's free and open data and space data from its partner agencies to address real-world problems on Earth and in space.

During the hackathon, participants from around the world gather at hundreds of local in-person and virtual events to tackle challenges presented by NASA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These challenges vary in complexity and topic, and participants must complete tasks ranging from creating artistic visualizations of the agency's data to conceptualizing and developing informative applications and software programs .

After the hackathon, the submitted projects are evaluated by experts from the space agency, and the winners are selected from one of 10 global prizes.

In addition to the competition, the event will feature a major science fair, organized in partnership with universities, the Government of Cundinamarca, and established research and technology centers. It will be an open space for the whole family, with workshops, interactive exhibits, and activities that will bring science closer to the community.

This year, participating teams will have the chance to win more than 18 prizes across three categories, including: a trip to Tatacoa Mountain; astronomical telescopes and binoculars; a science day in partnership with academic institutions; science kits to foster creativity and learning, among others.

The NASA Space Apps Challenge Cundinamarca 2025 is organized by Professor Melkin Garzón, Professor Francy Ríos of the CERES Foundation, and Professor Andrés Rosero of the Colegio Empresarial Los Andes, who lead this initiative with the goal of bringing science and innovation closer to young people and families in the region.

"This event seeks to rekindle a passion for science and innovation in children, youth, and adults, demonstrating that Cundinamarca can be the epicenter of space exploration and technological creativity," the organizing committee emphasized.

Participants will receive an official NASA certificate for their contribution to the challenge, and the winning teams in the high school and university categories will have the opportunity to showcase their proposals internationally.