AIRCAS Team Wins Silver at 2026 AI and Space Computing Challenge
17 Aug 2026
A research team from the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has won a silver award at the 2026 AI and Space Computing Challenge—the world's first international competition dedicated to space computing.
The award was announced at the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit held in Geneva, Switzerland. Led by Prof. QIU Shi from the State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, the AIRCAS team collaborated with Shifang Satlink (Suzhou) Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. to develop the solution, which won silver in the "Space Intelligence for Clean Water" track. Prof. QIU Shi and Dr. LIU Zhaoyan attended the award ceremony on behalf of the group to receive the honor.
Satellite-based water monitoring often involves massive raw data volume, limited downlink capacity and delays for ground application services. To address these challenges, the team integrated AI-driven strategy onto the computing payloads of satellite platforms, enabling on-orbit data screening, target identification, intelligent analysis and valid information extraction. This solution boosts the efficiency of water body information acquisition and abnormal pollution detection, delivering timely data support for dynamic water environment monitoring, pollution early warning and environmental emergency response.
The award recognizes the team's cutting-edge achievements in water environment remote sensing, on-orbit intelligent processing and aerospace information industrial applications. It also fully validates the technical feasibility of integrating relay satellites, on-orbit computing and industry services, laying a foundation for faster, more efficient, more intelligent space-based information services.
Jointly initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Zhijiang Lab and China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the 2026 AI and Space Computing Challenge centers on global sustainable development priorities covering food security, clean water supply and resilient cities. Launched in December 2025, the competition drew 258 participating teams across 36 countries worldwide, with merely 41 teams from 12 countries shortlisted as award winners.
Prof. QIU Shi and Dr. LIU Zhaoyan attend the award ceremony of the AI and Space Computing Challenge. （Image by AIRCAS）
Space Computing Solution for Water Environment Remote Sensing Monitoring Wins Silver Award in the "Space Intelligence for Clean Water" Track. (Image by AIRCAS)
News Updates
AIRCAS Team Wins Silver at 2026 AI and Space Computing Challenge
A research team from the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has won a silver award at the 2026 AI and Space Computing Challenge—the world's first international competition dedicated to space computing.
The award was announced at the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit held in Geneva, Switzerland. Led by Prof. QIU Shi from the State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, the AIRCAS team collaborated with Shifang Satlink (Suzhou) Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. to develop the solution, which won silver in the "Space Intelligence for Clean Water" track. Prof. QIU Shi and Dr. LIU Zhaoyan attended the award ceremony on behalf of the group to receive the honor.
Satellite-based water monitoring often involves massive raw data volume, limited downlink capacity and delays for ground application services. To address these challenges, the team integrated AI-driven strategy onto the computing payloads of satellite platforms, enabling on-orbit data screening, target identification, intelligent analysis and valid information extraction. This solution boosts the efficiency of water body information acquisition and abnormal pollution detection, delivering timely data support for dynamic water environment monitoring, pollution early warning and environmental emergency response.
The award recognizes the team's cutting-edge achievements in water environment remote sensing, on-orbit intelligent processing and aerospace information industrial applications. It also fully validates the technical feasibility of integrating relay satellites, on-orbit computing and industry services, laying a foundation for faster, more efficient, more intelligent space-based information services.
Jointly initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Zhijiang Lab and China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the 2026 AI and Space Computing Challenge centers on global sustainable development priorities covering food security, clean water supply and resilient cities. Launched in December 2025, the competition drew 258 participating teams across 36 countries worldwide, with merely 41 teams from 12 countries shortlisted as award winners.
Prof. QIU Shi and Dr. LIU Zhaoyan attend the award ceremony of the AI and Space Computing Challenge. （Image by AIRCAS）
Space Computing Solution for Water Environment Remote Sensing Monitoring Wins Silver Award in the "Space Intelligence for Clean Water" Track. (Image by AIRCAS)