Two Azorean teams will represent Portugal in the NASA Space Apps Challenge international competition. They were selected in an initiative promoted for the first time in the Azores in partnership with the Consulate of the United States and the Azorean Government, through the Nonagon Association - S. Miguel Science and Technology Park.
 
During the global competition, in which the ideas of presented by the Azorean teams "PMATeam"and "Carbonocracy" participate, the best solutions will be chosen worldwide for each of the challenges proposed by NASA.
 
One of the teams was selected in the only marathon held in the country and after a demanding selection process for the competition. It is composed of members working for a company installed at Nonagon Park, a public network infrastructure that is being implemented by the Regional Government with the aim of fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.
 
The marathon that led to these results, also known as hackathon, took place last weekend after the establishment of groups in different areas of knowledge, such as computer science, programming, biology and engineering.
 
ENTAX, a team of four students from the School of New Technologies of the Azores, presented a mobile app for the observation of Space Debris with the aim of raising the awareness of the population for the relevance of this phenomenon.
 
The "Carbonocracy" team has worked on an application providing information on the carbon emission levels of each individual in order to raise people's awareness towards the reduction of their impact on Earth.
 
The PMAteam has designed a game that aims to share with children knowledge on the solar system, through the assembly of real puzzles and the use of a complementary application using voice recognition and augmented reality to facilitate learning.
 
The projects were evaluated by a jury composed of the US Consul, the head of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of the Azores, the head of EMA-Mission Structure of the Azores for Space, the head of the School of New Technologies of the Azores and the representative of OASA - Santana Astronomical Observatory.
 
NASA Space Apps Challenge is an international competition where, over a 48-hour period, thousands of teams from around the world work to solve challenges posed by NASA scientists and engineers on issues that humanity faces both on the planet's surface and in space.