Get a taste of spacePick a 48-hour challenge
A playground to try, learn, and succeed at solving humanity’s greatest challenges
More than an intense 48-hour competition, Bootcamp is a gateway for anyone, anywhere to get a taste of space. Whether you’re an aspiring founder looking for inspiration to build a space pharma startup, an operator scoping out a startup to join as an in-house lawyer, or a tech investor wanting to get in on the action with space, Bootcamp is your gateway to the universe.
Pick a challenge below, join our server, assemble a team!
Planetary Pixels
Develop a methodology for accessing publicly available, high-resolution satellite imagery that public officials could use to build a national land use map that can measure, monitor, report, and verify carbon sequestration every year.
Eye in the Sky
Design a product to measure, monitor, model, and/or manage healthy ecosystems to enable organisations to stop their contribution to the deterioration of ecosystems.
No Space for Cancer
Design a system for conducting commercial medical research and manufacturing in microgravity.
Star Wars
Design a solution to integrate satellite data and information from conflict zones to support humanitarian relief efforts, human-rights monitoring, reconstruction initiatives as well as broader global supply chain impacts.
Emergency lifeline
Design a solution to make telecommunications and IT infrastructure more resilient, more easily accessible and at a low cost in emergencies.
Go for dust-off
Design a system that can contain, separate, or reduce the dust clouds that mechanical drills create on the moon.
Flushing for Humanity
Design a toilet that can efficiently recycle waste into valuable resources, without a first-world sewerage network to plug into.
Ground Control to Major Tom
Design, build and test a spacecraft telemetry system.
🔍 What are the details?
Moonshot was founded in 2016 after an impromptu conversation with Buzz Aldrin… in an elevator! Our founder spoke with Buzz about space entrepreneurship and the structural barriers that are preventing incredible teams from executing remarkable ideas about how we can use frontier locations to build a better world, and one thing led to another – Moonshot.
Building space technology to solve valuable problems is hard – even if you’re a wealthy billionaire or sovereign nation. But there’s a lot we can do today to make it easier. Space today is like the internet in the 80s and 90s – some people have started to see that it underpins the entire economy, and are working to build the infrastructure to make it easier for people to access and build. We set out to create a platform for frontier-enabled founders, operators and investors to thrive within – a pipeline of innovation, talent and capital, all the way from amazing individuals yet to have a remarkable idea, to diverse teams scaling a business that is on track to change the world for the better.
Moonshot is led by an alliance of space pioneers from across the globe investing time and money into helping people – like you – to find and realise a greater purpose in enriching and expanding our world for a better future, and our Bootcamp is our way to invite you to join us.
The challenge is simple: get to know the community, form a diversely skilled team, settle on one of our challenge areas to solve, build some impressive prototypes and business cases, then pitch it all to our Moonshot mentors. Best pitch wins!
It’s a combination of a hackathon (technology) a case competition (business plan) and a pitch competition (communicating your value) – all the key components of building a space business – in 48 hours! It’s intense, immensely fun, and you’ll leave with a tonne of new experience.
Before the launch time, we will list a collection of example challenges and areas on our website. These will be similar to the challenges that we’ll launch for the competition, to stimulate discussion on our server as people share their thoughts, get to know one another, and form teams in advance.
There are a wide range of challenges, some provided by Moonshot and others sponsored by our alumni and partners.
The Bootcamp is for anyone!
Whether you’re a high school student or a retiree, an engineer or a marketing professional, a tech worker or an investor – our Bootcamp is for you.
A winning team – just like in real life – needs all kinds. Diversity is key, and incorporating different skills, experiences and perspectives into your solution and final pitch is essential for winning any of the prizes.
- Sign up for an account at https://chat.moonshotspace.co
- Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about yourself in #bootcamp-find-a-team
- Have a look at the challenges listed on this page, each has a channel for people to discuss them on the server
- Think about which challenge you like the most, and meet people to form teams in advance of the launch
- Create a team name, whip up a logo, and register your team with us here
- Join some of the pre-Bootcamp workshops to get to know some of the tools and mentors at your disposal
- At 5PM Friday May 6 (AEST) we’ll launch the Bootcamp, releasing the real challenges
- Get started!
First Prize
- $1000 cash
- $2000 worth of units in our 2022 fund (i.e. targeting 12 space tech investments)
- Moonshot t-shirts – 60 minutes of free Moonshot coaching
- A copy of ‘Space is open for business’ by Robert Jacobsen
Second Prize
- $500 cash
- $1000 worth of units in our 2022 fund (i.e. targeting 12 space tech investments)
- Moonshot t-shirts – 60 minutes of free Moonshot coaching
- A copy of ‘Space is open for business’ by Robert Jacobsen
Third Prize
- Moonshot t-shirts
- 60 minutes of free Moonshot coaching
- A copy of ‘Space is open for business’ by Robert Jacobsen
Challenge Sponsor Prizes
Check out the sponsored challenges for more amazing prizes!
Mentors from the Moonshot network will be available in the mentor meeting channels to offer support and answer questions about the challenges.
Don’t miss out on an amazing opportunity to connect with global space pioneers!
- March 10, 2022 – Team registrations open and team-building discussions start at chat.moonshotspace.co
- May 6, 2022, 17:00 AEST – Bootcamp starts, welcome session and release of challenges.
- May 8, 2022, 17:00 AEST – Bootcamp ends and pitch/demo submission closes
- May 9-13, 2022, AEST – Judges evaluate submissions
- May 18 2022, 18:00 AEST – Winners announced
Ask us any questions you have on our server (click here). We’ll share the most frequent questions and answers on this page.
- Team registration: once you have found your team, please register here.
- Dates & times: Dates and times are listed in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
Join our serverto enter the competition
Join our community below to join Bootcamp discussions and to prepare for the event. Share your thoughts, advertise your skills, and find a well-rounded team to register before launch on May 6.
Evaluation Criteria
Below are the key areas that our mentors will use to evaluate bootcamp submissions:
Green Lights
The team:
- Has members with diverse experiences and backgrounds.
- Demonstrated ability to drive and execute.
- Uses all available resources and time to deliver final product.
Red Flags
The team:
- Lacks diversity of knowledge and experience.
- Shows lack of commitment and drive to execute their project.
- Not time efficient or resourceful.
Green Lights
The idea is:
- Original, creative and novel.
- Impactful and adds value to solving an important challenge.
- Relevant to the challenge it was submitted for.
Red Flags
The idea:
- Is not unique.
- Does not add significant value to solving the challenge.
- Poor alignment to the challenge it was submitted for.
Green Lights
- The idea addresses a gap in the market.
- Potential to grow into a profitable business.
- Current and future customers are identified.
Red Flags
- The idea does not have business value.
- No potential customers can be identified.
Green Lights
- The final product is usable in its current state.
- Could be used as a stepping stone for even better products.
- Design carefully curated.
- User friendly and intuitive.
Red Flags
- Project not realistic.
- User not considered.
- Poor design.
Green Lights
The key risks in the business, such as the regulatory and legal environment, have been thoughtfully considered.
Red Flags
The team is ignorant or dismissive of the external operating landscape.
Green Lights
- Effective storytelling – the challenge, solution and importance.
- Clear, concise and convincing.
Red Flags
- Project not well articulated.
- Purpose not clear.
