A few weeks ago, Lixar participated in the NASA Space Apps challenge, an international hackathon where teams engage with NASA’s free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space. Working at Dalhousie University in Halifax, each team had 48 hours to review the data, come up with a creative idea, and transform that data into something stellar.

We interviewed some participants who had some standout solutions to real-world problems. First we talk to a team that came up with an ingenious solution to map and clean up microplastics in our oceans. Then, we talk to someone who used suborbital data to create an interactive experience to educate users on the effects of climate change.

We want to give a special thanks to our friends at Dalhousie university for collaborating on the first ever east coast space apps challenge - and of course a shout out to the bright young minds who dream of using data to change the world.