The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), are pleased to announce a new opportunity under the Access to Space for All initiative education component.

The [Kibo%20Robot%20Programming%20Challenge%20(Kibo-RPC)]Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) is an educational opportunity where students will obtain and test their programming skills to solve various problems by moving free-frying robots (Astrobee and Int-Ball) in a simulation environment. Preliminary rounds will be held and the selected teams will be able to have their programs run on the free-flying robots in the final round at the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Through this experience, the goal is for students to learn the techniques and methods involved in programming and robotics, while boosting their interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills by moving actual robots in the ISS based on hypotheses simulated in advance. Students will also learn about the importance of bridging the gap between simulation and reality.

Up until the 3rd mission of Kibo-RPC, it was only accessible to students in Asia-Pacific countries that are part of the Kibo-ABC initiative. However, from the 4th mission of Kibo-RPC held in 2023, UNOOSA has decided to join the existing Kibo-RPC framework, to open to teams from developing economies and economies in transition that are Member States of the United Nations. Students from countries/regions that are NOT Kibo-RPC participating countries/regions and are from or belong to institutions in developing economies and economies in transition can register from the UNOOSA international slot. 

Please see the JAXA Kibo-RPC 4th mission website, especially the Guidebook, to check if you are eligible to join and for more information.

For more details on the UNOOSA international slot, see the Kibo-RPC UNOOSA Rounds page.

Registration to the UNOOSA international slot: https://forms.office.com/e/CCy1Cba5iQ

Registration Deadline: Sunday 14 May 2023 16:59CEST

Due to the large interest that is expected, for this first year of conducting the UNOOSA international slot, UNOOSA will only open registration and participation for 50 teams. This is a first-come first-serve basis. The registration may close earlier than the deadline if the 50-team capacity is filled.

Once your application has been accepted, you will receive an email containing your log-in ID and password to enable you to access JAXA's web-based simulator and the participants' page on the Kibo-RPC site. Please allow three (3) business days for your registration to be completed.