MIT ARCLab Prize for AI Innovation in Space launches second annual competition with a focus on space weather
In 2024, solar storms have lit up the skies with stunning Auroras across the United States. But while these displays are captivating to observers on the ground, space weather has the potential to wreak havoc on our global satellite infrastructure, disrupting the communications and navigation systems that power the modern world. This year’s MIT ARCLab Prize for AI Innovation in Space challenges participants to harness the power of AI to help satellites weather cosmic storms by improving forecasting to safeguard these critical systems.
Participants will use existing space weather data, empirical and physics-based atmospheric density models, and true SWARM measurements to create or train an AI model that can predict atmospheric density and space weather indices.
How to join the competition
ARCLab will release a devkit on GitHub, including code for the baseline method, giving participants a reference point to measure their performance on the leaderboard. The devkit will also include training inputs identical to the test inputs, but participants are encouraged to enhance their models by incorporating additional publicly available data during training.
The competition is broken into three phases:
Phase 0:
The warm-up phase begins on November 15, 2024. During this time, participants will be able to view the competition on EvalAI along with a small example dataset.
Phase 1:
Beginning on December 16, 2024 individuals and teams will be able to register for the challenge and submit their entries. Individuals and teams of any age, background, and skill set are encouraged to register, and submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Phase 2:
The top ten finalists will be notified of their advancement to phase 2 by March 17, 2025. Finalists must submit a short technical report to be considered for phase 2. Technical reports are due by April 14, 2025.
Winners will be announced on May 16, 2025.
Prizes and presentation of results
Ten prizes with a total value of $25,000 and travel expenses for three presenters to share their results at a technical meeting will be awarded to all finalists.
- First place: $10,000.
- Second place: $5,000
- Third place: $3,000.
- Seal of Excellence (4th – 10th): $1,000
Register for the challenge to receive the instructions and get started!
Questions? Email ai_challenge@mit.edu.
