It’s party time, Earthlings.
 
NASA (yes, that NASA) is inviting makers, hackers, and earth and space enthusiasts to come join the party at theClubhou.se on 540 Telfair St. and help solve problems from natural disasters to conserving our water resources. Register now at SpaceAppsAugusta.com.
 
The 2017 International Space Apps Challenge launches on Friday, April 28 and closes on Sunday, April 30. In between, problem solvers will enjoy free food and prizes and will work as a team to get their brains going on finding solutions to five challenges:

The Earth and Us: how we interact with our climate, weather and natural resources

Planetary Blues: how we can better manage our water quality and quantity

Warning! Danger Ahead!: how we can better monitor natural disasters and their impacts

Our Ecological Neighborhood: creating a better understanding of life on earth

Ideate and Create!: using the imagination to creatively interpret NASA Earth Science data
 
The event is open to the public. On Friday, April 28, attendees are invited to meet at 6 p.m. to meet and greet, select a challenge and form a team. From 7 to 9 p.m., the Project Launch Pad will feature satellite stations with introductions to coding, data retrieval and manipulation, web development, unity game engine and project pitching. The weekend’s schedule is as follows:
 
Saturday, April 29: theClubhou.se opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. for teams to work together on challenges

Sunday, April 30: theClubhou.se opens at noon. Space Apps Augusta presentations take place at 3 p.m., with winners announced at 4 p.m.
 
“What’s exciting about this event is that every year it has grown bigger and bigger. We have more and more people involved in our community and really want NASA to keep Augusta on their radar, literally,” said Grace Belangia, executive director of theClubhou.se.
 
The challenge is co-presented by sponsor Booz Allen Hamilton. Other sponsors include EDTS, Gate 1 Military Sewing and Laundry, RSI, Inc. CONima, & Jeffrey L. Foreman CPA PC.