NASA’s Earth Science Division is seeking innovative approaches from students and employees of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to address natural and climate change-exacerbated wildfires.

The NASA MSI INCUBATOR – Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge invites competition submissions that encompass the entire wildland fire lifecycle.

The program has two objectives:

1. To identify and potentially enhance NASA’s existing resources to aid wildland fire management by operational agencies. This involves exploring ways to enhance NASA’s Earth observation capabilities, refine or adapt technologies, and integrate new machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions to assist fire managers.

2. To guide the winning teams in establishing commercially viable startup businesses in Wildfire Climate Tech, tailored to meet commercial and NASA’s specific requirements.

To participate in the first round of the competition, teams must submit a 5-page white paper and a 2-to-3-minute video by February 2nd, 2024. Roughly 6-9 semi-finalists will be selected from the submissions to present their ideas to a panel of judges who will score their presentations in a business startup pitch format.

Up to three (3) finalists will receive an invitation to participate in the incubator program and a prize of $100,000. The prize funding and multi-week startup incubator program will offer winners the unique opportunity to develop concrete business plans, connect with industry stakeholders, and showcase their progress live at a Demo Day in June 2024. The location is yet to be determined, and travel and accommodations will be arranged for the participants.

Blue Clarity, LLC has been chosen to administer the program for NASA. Register for the competition here.

Want to apply for the NASA MSI Incubator Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge? There are 3 key steps you need to know🔑 #NASA #ClimateTech #ClimateChange #EarthScience #ClimateData #WildfireClimateTechChallenge pic.twitter.com/iVt80ESg4U

— Blue Clarity (@BlueClarityDC) December 19, 2023