The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) invites Filipino students from elementary to graduate levels to join the 7th Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC)!
Organized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Kibo-RPC is an international challenge where teams of 3-8 students will code a program that will move Int-Ball2 to designated locations within the Japanese “Kibo” module aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Int-Ball2 is a free-flying camera drone by JAXA, designed to eliminate the need for crew members to capture routine video footage aboard the ISS and Kibo module.
As a member of the Kibo-ABC, PhilSA leads the local call for proposals for the 7th Kibo-RPC in the Philippines.
Create your team now and register through this link on or before 30 September 2026, 10:59PM PhST.
The Challenge
Each team must write a program for Int-Ball2, allowing it to navigate the Kibo module safely through a series of checkpoints, precisely adjusting its position and attitude to identify potential air leaks at structural joints, hatches, and experimental racks.
Choose Your Track
To make space programming accessible to everyone, this year’s competition features two separate tracks:
- Beginner Track: Open for students under 16 years old (junior high school and below) who are completely new to coding. It features an easier difficulty level and focuses solely on simulator testing. The game rules for this course will be available in October. Winners of this track will NOT be eligible to participate in the ISS Final Round
- Regular Track: Open to students from elementary school all the way to graduate school. This track features standard competition difficulty, pushing your programming and problem-solving boundaries. The team that wins this track’s preliminary round will participate in the ISS Final Round, as well as receive a 100,000 PHP monetary prize from PhilSA.
Note: Teams meeting Beginner criteria may choose to participate in both tracks independently. Teams need to register for each track separately.
Check out the links below for more information about the competition and on developing your Int-Ball2 programs:
- Guidebook
- Int-Ball2 simulator – GitHub-1
- Int-Ball2 simulator – GitHub-2
- ROS wiki tutorial
- JAXA Kibo-RPC website
Access to the program simulator will be available to registered teams in October 2026.
Eligibility requirements
Team composition
Each team must be composed of three (3) to eight (8) members only. They must be Filipino students enrolled in an educational institution in the Philippines. Elementary, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students are eligible. Filipino students enrolled in an institution abroad who like to represent the Philippines in the competition are also eligible to apply.
Please note that applicants under 18 years old must first obtain parental/guardian consent.
Team Leader
Each team shall have a representative to manage the team as its leader. A student or guardian (or teacher) on the team may be the team leader and must be responsible for:
- Managing the team’s programming progress
- Submitting the application forms
- Submitting the programs
- Correspondence with the POC in your country/region and secretariat.
During application, please review the Kibo-RPC Entry Agreement and Consent Confirmation in the online Application Form.
Important Dates
| Call for participation | 24 July 2026 – 30 September 2026 |
| Release of Kibo-RPC simulator | October 2026 |
| Preliminary Round | January 2027 – February 2027 |
| Final Round | April 2027 – May 2027 |
About the Kibo-ABC program
The Kibo-ABC program or Asian Beneficial Collaboration through Kibo Utilization was established by the Space Frontier Working Group (SFWG) of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) to promote the utilization and share the value of the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo,” enhance the capacity of participating organizations, and foster collaborative projects between Japan and Kibo-ABC member countries.
Kibo-RPC is one of the activities of the Kibo-ABC program where students solve various problems through their programming skills to move the free-flying robots (Astrobee and Int-Ball2) in Kibo aboard the ISS.
Through its Kibo-ABC member organizations, JAXA invites the youth to participate in the challenge.
For questions and clarifications, please contact kiborpcphilippines@philsa.gov.ph
