The Cosmos Protocol

Overview

Something came back from the mission that wasn't supposed to be alive. Now the colony is failing and a crew member is down.

The Cosmos Protocol is a 2-day computational biology hackathon hosted by BRSI-VIT at graVITas 2026, where participants investigate an unidentified biological organism recovered from a deep-space sample. The organism is contaminating life-support systems, a crew member is symptomatic, and standard sterilization methods have failed.

Your mission is to identify the organism, understand the threat, and develop a scientifically defensible response.

Day 1 — Two Missions, One Organism

Day 1 splits participants into two parallel missions:

Mission 1: ExoBiology

Decode the EXOGENOME — a collection of unknown gene sequences recovered from the sample. Using real computational biology tools, classify the organism and build a comprehensive biological profile based entirely on available evidence.

Mission 2: Space Medicine

Work with a single antigen sequence isolated from the pathogen. Use computational approaches to design a candidate antibody that could potentially help save the infected crew member.

Two missions. Two perspectives. One organism causing both crises.

Day 2 — Convergence

Day 2 brings everything together.

Armed with the findings from Day 1, teams must answer the most important question:

What do we actually do about it?

Teams will propose a scientifically justified response based on their own analysis and defend their conclusions before a judging panel. Judges will challenge assumptions, question interpretations, and test how well teams can reason from evidence under pressure.

What to Expect

• Computational biology and bioinformatics challenges
• Real-world scientific tools and datasets
• Evidence-based biological investigation
• Computational antibody design
• Scientific reasoning and interpretation
• Team-based problem solving
• Final presentation and Q&A

No wet lab. No coding required. No prior experience required.

Just curiosity, scientific thinking, and the ability to work under pressure.

Rules & Regulations

• Participants must bring their own laptop. No specialized hardware is required.
• All analysis, interpretation, and final submissions must be the team's own work.
• Copy-pasted outputs from generative AI tools without genuine understanding may be penalized during the Q&A.
• Plagiarism or solutions copied from other teams will result in immediate disqualification.
• Each round will have a fixed submission deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted unless an extension is announced for all teams.
• Day 1 submissions will determine the teams shortlisted for Day 2. Teams that are not shortlisted may observe the Day 2 sessions.
• Mentors may assist with tool navigation and technical difficulties but will not provide solutions, validate scientific interpretations, or assess the correctness of a team's approach.
• Final presentations will be time-limited and followed by a Q&A session with the judges.
• Respectful behaviour toward organizers, mentors, judges, and fellow participants is mandatory.
• Harassment, sabotage of another team's work, or misuse of shared resources will result in immediate disqualification.
• The standard graVITas Code of Conduct applies throughout the event.
• Participants can complete the payment here after registering on Unstop: gravitas.vit.ac.in/events/b36d1661-f49d-451f-980f-f262a5d92594

Judging Criteria

• Scientific Feasibility
• Originality & Innovation
• Depth of Reasoning
• Presentation Quality
• Q&A Performance

The organism is unknown. The evidence is incomplete. The clock is running.

Can your team figure out what came back — and decide what to do next?