A satellite over the Earth's surface.Michael Dunning"Hack-A-Sat" is holding its fourth annual competition at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas.The contest is sponsored by the US government and has a prize of $50,000.The competition is meant to help the government build up its resources against foreign hackers.It seems counterintuitive for the US government to cheer on hackers targeting its satellites, but that's just what's happening this weekend at Hack-A-Sat 4.The "Hack-A-Sat," founded by the US Space Force and Air Force, is a capture-the-flag-like contest usually consisting of qualification and final events, according to its details, during which hackers use hardware that simulates breaking into a real-life satellite and gaining access to its data.The contest was initially dreamed up in the hopes of bettering defenses against threats to cybersecurity increasingly faced by the US government — especially from potentially hostile foreign powers — by allowing the government to observe how hackers would attack and beef up its understanding of advanced hacking.For the first time, this year's iteration of the competition will have hackers working to break into the Space Force satellite Moonlighter, a test satellite designed as a "hacking sandbox" that will allow advanced analysis of cybersecurity threats.During the competition, hackers work frantically to break into the Moonlighter satellite to gain access to its data while fighting off the other teams from attacking their own systems, according to the contest details.The first-place team will win $50,000, the second-place team will win $30,000, and the third-place team will take home $20,000.According to an interview with Space Force Capt.