Mission Briefing

Your mission, should you choose to accept it.

A NASA satellite has malfunctioned and broken apart in low Earth orbit. The debris contains valuable data scattered across the playing field. Your corporation has deployed a HYPER-SPHERE™ to recover it, but a rival corporation has the same idea.

Collect debris. Photograph your opponent. Manage your energy between light and shadow zones. Deploy mirrors to block enemy surveillance. Each 180-second round is a battle of strategy, resource management, and autonomous programming.

SpySPHERES is the Zero Robotics Middle School game for Summer 2026, a US open invite tournament where teams program real hardware developed at MIT.

Photograph the Enemy

Your satellite is equipped with a camera. Snap pictures of your opponent while they're in the Light Zone to score points, but watch out, they're trying to photograph you too!

Collect Debris

Scattered across the field are pieces of a broken NASA satellite. Collect score-generating items and energy packs to keep your satellite powered and your score climbing.

Light & Dark Zones

The arena simulates orbital sunlight and shadow. Recharge energy in the Light Zone; hide in the Dark Zone where cameras can't reach you. Zones shift mid-round, adapt or fail.

Energy Management

Every action costs energy. Moving, photographing, or even scanning. Solar recharge only works in the Light Zone. Run out of energy, and your satellite goes dark.

Deploy Mirrors

Use mirror items to block incoming photographs and reflect enemy camera shots at them, turning their intel-gathering into wasted energy.

180-Second Rounds

Each match lasts exactly three minutes. Program your autonomous pilot to make every second count. No manual control, your code is your only agent in the field!

April

8

Registration Opens

Domestic open invite

June

22

Program Begins

Start coding your satellite

July

31

Final Submission

Last chance to submit code

August

7

Finals Day

Championship matches

Intelligence Briefings

Informational Webinars

Join us for live webinars to learn about SpySPHERES, the Zero Robotics platform, and how to prepare your team for the summer tournament. Open to all interested teachers and mentors.