Washington, Dec 19 (NationPress) A team from India, proposing a sovereign, phased-array satellite internet framework to enhance broadband connectivity in remote areas, has been recognized as a global winner of NASA’s 2025 International Space Apps Challenge, as announced by the US space agency.

The team, known as Pho tonics Odyssey and based in Chennai, received the Most Inspirational Award for envisioning satellite internet as a public utility instead of a private enterprise.

This initiative aims to minimize ground dependency and connect over 700 million individuals in India who currently do not have broadband access. The winning members from the team include Manish D., M. K., Prasanth G., Rajalingam N., Rashi M., and Sakthi R., according to NASA Space Apps.

NASA highlighted that the 2025 edition of its prominent global hackathon attracted over 114,000 participants across 551 local events in 167 countries and territories, marking it as one of the most substantial international collaborations in STEM organized by the agency.

The winners were chosen from more than 11,500 project submissions and assessed by judges from NASA and its partner organizations.

“The Space Apps Challenge allows explorers worldwide to access NASA’s free and open data,” stated Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Additionally, Indian American students and participants of Indian descent were notably present among the winners, highlighting the significant influence of the Indian diaspora in global science and technology.

The Best Use of Data Award was awarded to Resonant Exoplanets, a US-based team that developed an AI-driven system to automatically analyze extensive amounts of telescope and satellite data for identifying exoplanets and detecting potential biosignatures.

This team comprised Adhvaidh S., Gabriel S., Jack A., and Sahil S., who worked on the challenge titled “A World Away: Hunting for Exoplanets with AI.” Their system processes datasets from missions including the James Webb Space Telescope, facilitating automated analyses instead of manual identification.

Another standout project featuring Indian-origin participation was Astro Sweepers, which received the Galactic Impact Award. This team — Harshiv T., Pragathy S., Pratik J., Sherlin D., Yousra H., and Zienab E. — developed a comprehensive orbital debris compliance and risk intelligence platform that automatically processes public orbital data to generate debris assessment reports and evaluate risk indices for objects in space.

This initiative addresses various operational, regulatory, and environmental challenges posed by the commercialization of low Earth orbit.

Since its inception in 2012, the International Space Apps Challenge has evolved into NASA’s annual global hackathon, aimed at engaging citizens worldwide in addressing real-world issues using the agency’s open data, becoming one of the largest collaborative platforms for STEM innovation.