Hackathons aren’t just about coding all night (though there’s plenty of that); they’re about turning big ideas into action. At Junction 2024, Aalto University brought a fascinating challenge to the table just for that. Hackers were offered to use space data to solve some of Earth’s most pressing problems. From climate change to managing natural resources, the possibilities were huge—and the results? Even better.

The Challenge: Space Data for a Better Planet

Let’s talk space data. Think satellite images, environmental tracking, and all kinds of open-source data collected by space agencies. It’s powerful stuff, but a lot of it just sits there waiting to be put to use.

That’s where Aalto University’s challenge came in. Teams at Junction 2024 were tasked with creating tools to turn this data into actionable insights for sustainability. The goal? To tackle things like deforestation, pollution, and even disaster management with innovative tech solutions.

TerraLens: A Tool for Real Change

The winning idea that came out of this challenge was TerraLens, a web app by a team called AstroBros. Picture this: a tool that helps everyday people, investigators, and even government agencies dig into the root causes of ecological problems.

Here’s how it works:

• Interactive Maps: You zoom in on a specific area and pull up recent satellite images.
• Tracking Changes Over Time: It lets you compare satellite data from different time periods to spot trends—like shrinking forests or growing oil spills.
• Deep Dive into Data: By analyzing vegetation indexes (like NDVI), it shows how green (or not) an area is over the years.

It’s a bit like giving everyone a magnifying glass to investigate environmental mysteries.

But what’s even cooler is that the team behind TerraLens has big plans, including:

• Adding AI-powered alerts to flag potential environmental issues before they get out of hand.
• Expanding analysis tools to cover other disasters, like toxic spills or river contamination.
• Making it even easier to use, so more people can join the fight against ecological damage.

Now that’s some exciting and impactful stuff, isn’t it?

What's Next?

By bringing a sustainability-focused challenge to Junction 2024, Aalto University highlighted the power of merging academic expertise with hands-on creativity at hackathons. These kinds of collaborations aren’t just about brainstorming—they’re about making real progress on some of the world’s toughest challenges, like climate change and resource management.

The best part? The ideas born on a hackathon usually don’t just end with the event—they spark conversations and solutions that can ripple out, drive lasting change, and spark entrepreneurial ventures. With Junction as the launching pad, even the sky isn’t the limit!