Bearcats Go Galactic: Students Claim Top Award at 2025 NASA International Space Apps Challenge

November 24, 2025

At the 2025 NASA International Space Apps Challenge in New York City—a two-day global hackathon attracting thousands of participants from 160 countries—innovative Baruch College students triumphed, earning one of the event’s top awards.

The Baruch team, named Mission CTRL, won the prestigious local Galactic Impact Award which recognizes the project with the greatest potential to improve life on Earth or elsewhere in the universe using NASA’s real-world data.

A Tool to Predict Planetary Consequences

The undergraduates developed a simulation tool called CosmoSim that models the environmental and geological consequences of asteroid impact. The platform simulates how a 300-meter asteroid could trigger tsunamis, earthquakes, and atmospheric disturbances on a global scale.

According to team Mission CTRL, the CosmoSim provides an intuitive user experience allowing individuals to visualize the consequences of impact energy, radius, and estimated damage zones from any of these catastrophic events. By transforming NASA’s open data into an engaging, predictive interactive map, the platform bridges research and accessibility—enhancing scientific understanding, promoting public awareness, and demonstrating the importance of preparedness against near-Earth objects and celestial threats.

Meet the Creative Minds Behind Mission CTRL

Five members of the team are earning a BBA from the Zicklin School of Business, and one is working on a BS degree the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. The team was comprised of:

• Team leader Nicole Liu (’26), statistic and quantitative modeling
• Brayan Guaman-Camas (’26), computer information systems
• Mateusz Drozdz (’26), computer and information systems – security/information assurance
• Erick Buitrago (’27), statistics and quantitative modeling – data science
• Kacper Zmiejko (’26), computer and information systems – risk management and cybersecurity
• Reina Huang (’27), financial mathematics, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Liu was inspirated to enter the competition after attending a Vibe Coding workshop hosted by Baruch’s Starr Career Development Center. Here, she learned how to use Generative AI to build a team project quickly. As team leader, she recruited four students from her Programming for Analytics class and two others.

After a recent near-Earth pass by comet 3I/ATLAS, the team wondered what might happen if an object of similar size actually struck the planet—an idea that sparked what would become CosmoSim.

“I was so happy that our team’s effort was recognized. It felt amazing to see our hard work pay off,” Liu said. “My favorite part of the event was using AI throughout the challenge. This hackathon helped me understand the importance of teamwork, leadership, and communication — all skills I hope to carry into my future career where I want to do something meaningful and impactful for society.”

Watch: In this video, Liu explains how the simulator was developed and what she learned competing in the NASA Space Challenge App.

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