Accurately predict the sun. May the best model win.
A benchlab.live competition to forecast solar wind speed upstream of Earth 3 days ahead, evaluated on live real world data from the ACE satellite in an operational context. Help protect our critical modern infrastructure and astronauts in the face of space weather!
Cash Prize
With a $9,000 first prize plus visibility, fame and glory can be yours!
Live Real-World Evaluation
Models are evaluated on future, unseen real-time data — not a static test set.
You Train. We Evaluate.
Use your own compute for training. We provide compute for live evaluation.
Submit a Docker Container
Package your code in our template container. We run it in our environment.
Teams of 1–4
Open to teams of 1 to 4 members. From students to professionals all are welcome.
Timeline at a Glance
Pre-register → build → deploy → live evaluation over several months.
No Space Physics Required
Strong ML skills are what matter. We provide data and baselines to help you start.
Technical Details
Find infrastructure details, evaluation rules, FAQs and more in the downloadable briefing pack.
Opportunities
Top teams may receive opportunities for:
Operational deployment collaboration
Publication contribution in peer-reviewed journal
Conference presentations and travel support
Follow-on research engagement
Prize Pool
Overall 1st Place →$9,000
Overall 2nd Place →$5,000
Overall 3rd Place →$3,000
Overall 4th Place →$2,000
Overall 5th Place → $1,000
Event-based Wildcard* Bonus
*Wildcard categories and prize values will be defined and announced at launch. Overall challenge is predicting solar wind speed overall, and not impulsive transient events. Given the impossibility of predicting the types of solar phenomena that will occur after the code freeze and during the model evaluation period, the competition organizers reserve the right to extend the evaluation period and award bonus prizes accordingly. Evaluation windows for wildcard prizes will be selected using predefined scientific criteria, such as speed thresholds or independently identified event intervals corresponding to CMEs, HSSs, or different solar wind regimes. Wildcard categories will not be chosen based on leaderboard outcomes.
LIVE EVALUATION & LEADERBOARD
October - December 2026 every 6 hours
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Pre-registration opens
Secure one of the limited spots by completing the required pre-registration form before the official launch window.
Eligibility
Students, researchers, engineers, industry professionals - absolutely anyone!
Who Can Participate?
Space Physics Background Required?
No, you do not need domain expertise to complete this challenge. Remote sensing of the Sun and in-situ measurements of the solar wind speed means that computer vision and time series analysis are highly relevant. Physics inspired approaches and additional modalities are all welcome.
Team Size?
Up to 4 members.
Participation Cap
Pre-registration is open-ended, but we will be asking for commitment ahead of the pre-deployment week. At this point, we will be capping participation to 100 teams with a preference to larger teams and then on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Please do consider forming a team.
IP Policy
Teams retain IP; submissions must be open source (MIT).
Exclusions
Employees, organizers, judges, and individuals with privileged access to the competition infrastructure or evaluation process are not eligible for participation, including Trillium affiliates and certain affiliate types of CU Boulder.
bRIEFing Pack
You can read more about:
Competition overview and operational context
Data and technical requirements
Prize pot and evaluation criteria
Participation guidelines