Pixxel Awarded NASA Contract to Support Earth Science Research with Hyperspectral Technology

Pixxel Selected for NASA’s $476 Million Commercial SmallSat Services Award

LOS ANGELES & BENGALURU, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pixxel, a leader in hyperspectral imaging and Earth Observation, is thrilled to announce its selection as part of NASA’s $476 million Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract. This contract period of performance runs through November 2028.

Pixxel’s inclusion in this contract solidifies its position as a key player in the space industry, becoming the youngest company in a group that includes some of the most established names globally in Earth Observation.

Under this contract, Pixxel will provide NASA and its U.S. government and academic partners with hyperspectral Earth observation data, further empowering the administration’s Earth science research and application activities. With the ability to capture data across hundreds of narrow wavelengths, Pixxel’s datasets can unravel granular insights on climate change, agriculture, biodiversity, resource management, and more.

"Being selected for this NASA contract is a monumental achievement for Pixxel and further validates that hyperspectral imaging will be integral to the future of space-based Earth observation and enable us to truly build a health monitor for the planet," said Awais Ahmed, Co-founder and CEO of Pixxel. "We are deeply honored to support NASA’s Earth Observation initiatives and demonstrate the transformative potential of Pixxel’s hyperspectral technology in addressing critical environmental challenges.”

Building on this momentum, Pixxel is making significant strides toward its mission with the upcoming launch of Fireflies, its 5-meter resolution hyperspectral satellites, which will be the highest-resolution hyperspectral satellites ever launched. These satellites will capture data across 250+ spectral bands, offering more comprehensive coverage with a 40 km swath width and a 24-hour revisit frequency anywhere on the planet.

Pixxel’s Chief Commercial Officer, Aakash Parekh, said, “This contract represents a major step forward in leveraging commercial hyperspectral data to bolster Earth science research and environmental monitoring. We are proud to foster further collaboration on hyperspectral data applications within the scientific community, and we look forward to working with NASA to further its mission with this cutting-edge earth monitoring modality.”

Along with the six upcoming satellites launching shortly, Pixxel plans to expand its constellation to 24 satellites to make hyperspectral data commercially even more broadly available and accessible to stakeholders across industries and governments. This will empower them with real-time, actionable insights to inform decision-making, improve natural resource management, and enhance environmental resilience.

For further details on the award, visit NASA's official announcement here. For more information about Pixxel, visit our website here.

About Pixxel

Pixxel is a space data company and a spacecraft manufacturer redefining Earth observation with hyperspectral imaging. Pixxel's constellation of the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral imaging satellites is designed for 24-hour revisit anywhere on Earth. It helps detect, monitor, and predict critical global phenomena across agriculture, oil and gas, mining, environment, and other sectors in up to 50x richer detail. Pixxel has also launched its in-house Earth Observation Studio, Aurora, to make satellite imagery analysis easily accessible.

Pixxel has raised over $70 million from Google, Lightspeed, Radical Ventures, Relativity's Jordan Noone, Seraphim Capital, Ryan Johnson, Blume Ventures, Sparta LLC, Accenture, and others. For more information, visit www.pixxel.space or follow Pixxel on Twitter and LinkedIn.