Experience groundbreaking advancements from startups and industry leaders in portable off-grid AI, autonomous health systems, safe, sustainable food solutions, and peak physical/mental performance technologies, accelerating humanity’s journey toward NASA’s vision of a sustained lunar and Martian presence.

How do we build AI that survives without reliable infrastructure? Join industry disruptors and researchers in areas of edge computing, hardware innovation, and distributed intelligence as they discuss the future of self-sufficient AI for terrestrial and space applications.

Roll up your sleeves and translate keynote ideas into actionable problem-identification discussions across sectors. Co-facilitated by industry and academic leaders in AI, these interactive working groups will focus on key obstacles that need multidisciplinary solutions now.

Visit the Innovation Showcase or recharge and connect in our Collab Habs, where you can brainstorm future collaborative opportunities with your fellow attendees or catch up on work and family back home.

Enjoy lunch in the main hall or at Amazon's cafe spaces located throughout the building.

As our food systems scale to feed our growing populace, how do we ensure that our food is safe, sustainable, and delicious everywhere, whether in urban areas, disaster zones, or outer space? Food scientists, engineers, and visionary chefs discuss next-generation solutions for dinner, from Earth to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Roll up your sleeves and translate keynote ideas into actionable problem-identification discussions across sectors. Co-facilitated by industry and academic leaders in food technology and culinary arts, these interactive working groups will focus on key obstacles that need multidisciplinary solutions now.

Visit the Innovation Showcase or recharge and connect in our Collab Habs, where you can brainstorm future collaborative opportunities with your fellow attendees or catch up on work and family back home.

Experience groundbreaking advancements from startups and industry leaders in portable off-grid AI, autonomous health systems, safe and sustainable food solutions, and peak physical/mental performance technologies, accelerating humanity's journey toward NASA's 2040 vision of a sustained lunar and Martian presence.

Join visionaries from industry, government, and academia as they discuss the future of autonomous healthcare, where AI could be used to triage medical crises, robots could perform remote surgeries, and predictive algorithms could redefine preventative care. Discover how cross-sector collaboration is breaking barriers to deploy self-sufficient diagnostic systems that empower patients on Earth today and future applications for astronauts venturing to Mars, while recognizing the ethical, technical, and regulatory challenges ahead.

Visit the Innovation Showcase or recharge and connect in our Collab Habs, where you can brainstorm future collaborative opportunities with your fellow attendees or catch up on work and family back home.

Roll up your sleeves and translate keynote ideas into actionable problem-identification discussions across sectors. Co-facilitated by industry and academic leaders in high tech health, these interactive working groups will focus on key obstacles that need multidisciplinary solutions now.

Enjoy lunch in the main hall or at Amazon's cafe spaces located throughout the building.

A central part of the NEXPLORE 2040 experience is preparing the next generation of great leaders to tackle society's grand challenges. The Horizons Challenge is a nationwide competition for multidisciplinary university student teams to pitch their ideas for the next critical problem spaces—not solutions—aligned with NASA's missions. Finalist teams come to NEXPLORE to refine their pitches with your feedback, preparing them to pitch live and be chosen as the topic for the 2026 Xperience Competition.

Engage with Horizons Challenge competitors in small group feedback sessions, where attendees can help them craft their pitch for the topic of the next Xperience Competition. Competitors will work for 15 months to solve a grand challenge and create a startup, potentially securing up to $2M in investment.

Visit the Innovation Showcase or recharge and connect in our Collab Habs, where you can brainstorm future collaborative opportunities with your fellow attendees or catch up on work and family back home.

Experience groundbreaking advancements from startups and industry leaders in portable off-grid AI, autonomous health systems, safe and sustainable food solutions, and peak physical/mental performance technologies, accelerating humanity's journey toward NASA's 2040 vision of a sustained lunar and Martian presence.

This keynote examines how the high-performance resilience of elite athletes and the creative problem-solving of artistic disciplines can converge to be critical elements of success in entrepreneurship and the future of space industry development.

Neuroscientists, elite athletes, and space physicians reveal how innovations in cognitive resilience, biometrics, and behavioral design are preparing humans, from athletes to astronauts, for some of the toughest stress tests.

Roll up your sleeves and translate keynote ideas into actionable problem-identification discussions across sectors. Co-facilitated by industry and academic leaders in health and performance, these interactive working groups will focus on key obstacles that need multidisciplinary solutions now.

Get out your devices - it's time to vote! Horizons Challenge student finalists will pitch their case for a topic that should be the focus of the next $2M, multidisciplinary, multi-university Xperience Competition. NEXPLORE 2040 attendees will vote live for their favorite pitch.

Where and how should bold capital flow to solve humanity's grand challenges? Investors and ecosystem builders share strategies for developing novel venture evaluation models and accelerating growth through targeted investments based on specific outcomes.

NEXPLORE 2040 marks the beginning of a multidisciplinary initiative aimed at addressing the challenges of 2040 through collaboration, entrepreneurship, and creative problem-solving. The Summit concludes with a networking reception, a retrospective, and a look ahead to the next steps, including the next round of challenges for university students and administrators to work directly with industry leaders, and sets the stage for next year's summit in 2026.

The Horizons Gala, an exclusive ticketed event, will showcase highlights from the past three days of the summit and introduce the winning team of the Horizons Challenge. Distinguished keynotes and fireside chats will focus on the future of universities as a solution engine for addressing grand challenges and the role of startups and private industry in shaping the future of space habitation.