Colleagues, *NASA and the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) are working together to study the feasibility of accelerating technology development for what we’ve been referring to as the next generation of animal tracking. The idea is basically to widen the data pipe allowing for greater rates of data transfer from tagged animals, as well as improve the accuracy of tags which rely on Doppler effect for localization. As part of this project we’re holding a public competition from Sept. 12 to Nov. 8, 2018, to gather new ideas to improve upon the current system of data reception via cubesats. The challenge includes a total prize pool of up to $30,000. Submissions are due by 5:00 p.m., Nov 8, with winners to be announced in December. The competition website is: https://www.herox.com/animaltracking <https://www.herox.com/animaltracking>. This challenge is the first in a possible series of challenges addressing Next Generation Animal Tracking. Submissions to this initial challenge will be used to inform potential future challenges looking at solutions for an open system architecture and software integration.If you know of organizations that may be interested in entering, please do pass this along. Any questions, feel free to drop me a line anytime. Best,Jake* Jacob Levenson Marine Biologist U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Jacob.Levenson@boem.gov 703-787-1710