Hello Community,
First off, thanks for your continued patience. We've been overwhelmed by the excitement for the challenge following press coverage and the exceptional community that's come together as a result. This challenge has really taken on a life of its own!
All that being said, we're very aware many of you are eagerly awaiting access to FUN3D software, and still wondering about the status of your application. We wanted to share with you that while it is an important protection, export controlled software is difficult to access, especially when a large number of people are interested in getting access simultaneously (as is the situation with this competition.)
In regard to this situation, it's important to be aware that NASA is committed to making sure the playing field is level and fair for all. And great news, NASA is hard at work creating a custom software package for release through their software release catalog, so you can begin working on your solution that much faster!
The public release of this software is anticipated for the end of June. As you might expect, we're extending the submission deadline by roughly 3 months to allow all competitors ample time to formulate their submissions.
You can expect additional follow-up announcements over the coming weeks with updated instructions and timelines for this new plan.
Thanks so much for sticking with it! We truly couldn't do this without the community commitment and understanding. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and feel free to leave them as a comment to this update.
