Moonshot was created for people willing to pursue ideas that do not yet belong to the present.

This is not a competition for replicas, aesthetic redesigns, or slightly modified versions of existing products. It is a space for original thinking, technical ambition, and first-principles exploration.

Participants are expected to build with intellectual honesty, scientific curiosity, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.

Every submission must contain a significant original contribution created by the participating team during the hackathon.

Projects may draw inspiration from existing fields, technologies, or research, but direct plagiarism, copied implementations, cloned products, or uncredited work are strictly prohibited.

This includes:
— copying codebases without attribution,
— reproducing research papers or concepts without meaningful innovation,
— submitting AI-generated outputs as entirely human-created work,
— or presenting existing startups/products as original ideas.

Participants may reference prior research and open-source work, but all external contributions, datasets, frameworks, and inspirations must be properly credited.

Moonshot rewards originality of thought above all else.

Artificial intelligence is permitted - and encouraged - as a tool for acceleration.

Participants may use AI systems for:
— coding assistance,
— debugging,
— brainstorming,
— drafting papers and proposals,
— research support,
— simulations and design,
— technical exploration and experimentation.

However:

The central insight must be yours.

The vision must be yours.

The intellectual leap must be yours.

AI may assist execution.
It may not replace imagination.

A submission generated entirely through prompting, without meaningful human reasoning, direction, or innovation, fundamentally violates the spirit of Moonshot.

Submissions may include:
— software applications,
— deep-tech systems,
— scientific research projects,
— hardware prototypes,
— mathematical or computational models,
— simulations,
— theoretical frameworks,
— or interdisciplinary experiments.

Every submission must include:

A functioning prototype, simulation, proof-of-concept, or experimental system demonstrating the feasibility of the idea.

A paper explaining:
— the problem being addressed,
— the original insight behind the idea,
— technical or scientific foundations,
— why current systems are insufficient,
— and the long-term implications if the project succeeds.

Teams must explain not only what they built, but why the idea matters.

Participants are expected to engage respectfully with other teams, organizers, judges, and mentors.

Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, sabotage, or abusive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated.

Challenge ideas aggressively.
Treat people respectfully.

Moonshot exists to create an environment where ambitious thinking can thrive freely and safely.

Do not build what is popular.

Build what should exist.

Even if the world is not ready for it yet.