Register
September 9-11, 2025
Amazon HQ2 |Â Arlington, VA
September 11, 2025 • 2:00 pm
Amazon HQ2, Arlington, VA
The Horizons Celebration will showcase highlights from the summit and announce the winning student teams of the Horizons Challenge and xFoundry School Safety Xperience Competition.
This is the culminating event of NEXPLORE 2040, a three-day summit in collaboration with NASA.
Join xFoundry for inspiring talks, announcements, high-caliber networking, and an award ceremony celebrating university student innovation, all inside the brand new Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, VA. A reception with hors d'oeuvres and a bar immediately follows.
University leaders, industry experts, students, and our NASAÂ partners will come together as we set our sights on the future of universities as a solution engine for solving grand challenges.
The Horizons Challenge invited students from colleges and universities to identify critical focus areas that will solve global challenges for Earth today, and space tomorrow. Teams from 15+ institutions submitted pitches for problem statements in one of four focus areas, pulled from NASA's 187 technical shortfalls.
Our finalist teams will pitch at NEXPLORE 2040 and summit attendees will cast their votes to set the target for the upcoming Xperience Competition. The winning pitch will be announced at the Horizons Celebration and the student team will take home a $2,040 cash prize and a $10,000 stipend for the 2027 Xperience Competition*.
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The inaugural Xperience Competition, launched at the University of Maryland, College Park, challenged student teams to develop an affordable and automated solution for rapid detection and notification of school shooting events for K-12 schools and colleges.
After 18 months of solution development, now in an MVP stage, a grand prize winner will be announced and awarded $250k investment in their solution, launching their venture directly to market. Upon graduation, the student team joins the venture's product team, with a salary and equity stake.
Hear from some of the students and judges about their progress at the Sales Pitch Milestone.
Celebrate the conclusion of NEXPLORE 2040 and the next generation of innovators.
The Horizons Gala will showcase highlights from the summit and introduce the winning team of the Horizons Challenge — a collegiate problem-statement generating challenge that saw participation from students from 14+ universities nationwide.
This is the culminating event of NEXPLORE 2040, a three-day summit in collaboration with NASA. Add a summit package to your registration to join us from September 9-11.
Join xFoundry for an inspiring evening of live music, plated dinner, and high caliber networking and the awards ceremony announcing the winners of the Horizons Challenge [and ssxc], all inside the brand new Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, VA.
Join university partners, leaders, students, industry leaders, and our NASA partners for inspiring speeches and awards ceremonies  celebrating the future of universities as a solution engine for addressing grand challenges.
This is the culminating event of NEXPLORE 2040, a three-day summit in collaboration with NASA. Add a summit package to your registration to join us from September 9-11.
The Horizons Challenge invited students from colleges and universities to identify critical focus areas that will solve global challenges for Earth today, and space tomorrow. [x] teams from [x] institutions submitted pitches for problem statements in one of four focus areas, pulled from NASA's 187 technical shortfalls.
Our [x] finalist teams are bringing their pitches to NEXPLORE 2040 to be refined and voted up on by our 200+ attendees. The winning pitch will be announced at the Horizons Gala, setting the topic for the upcoming Xperience Competition, and the student team taking home a cash prize.
The inaugural Xperience Competition, launched at the University of Maryland, College Park, challenged student teams to develop an affordable and automated solution for rapid detection and notification of school shooting events for K-12 schools and colleges.
After 18 months of solution development, now in an MVP stage, a grand prize winner will be announced and awarded $250k investment in their solution, launching their venture directly to market. Upon gradution, the student team will become salaried employees with equity stake upon graduation.
Celebrate the conculsion of NEXPLORE 2040 and connect with the next generation of innovators.