Bangalore: Indian space startup Pixxel has landed a contract with NASA to support Earth science research using hyperspectral technology. The Bengaluru-based company has become part of NASA’s $476 million commercial small satellite data acquisition program, a first for an Indian startup after the space sector was opened up to private companies in 2020.
Co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed called the award a “monumental achievement for Pixxel.” He said the contract, valid until November 2028, “validates that hyperspectral imaging will be critical to the future of Earth observation from space and will allow us to build a true monitor of the health of the planet.”
Under the contract, Pixxel will provide NASA and its U.S. government and academic partners with hyperspectral Earth observation data. This will help power the administration’s Earth science research and application activities.
Pixxel hyperspectral can capture data in hundreds of narrow wavelengths. Its datasets can also reveal granular insights into climate change, agriculture, biodiversity, and resource management, among others.
Building on this momentum, Pixxel is also taking important steps toward launching six satellites soon. Fireflies, its 5-meter resolution hyperspectral satellites, will be the highest resolution hyperspectral satellites ever launched.
These satellites will capture data in more than 250 spectral bands, offering more comprehensive coverage with a swath width of 40 km and a 24-hour revisit frequency anywhere on the planet.
Additionally, Pixxel also plans to expand its constellation to 24 satellites to commercialize hyperspectral data, making it available to stakeholders across all sectors and governments.
Pixxel has a constellation of the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral imaging satellites, designed to perform 24-hour surveys anywhere on Earth.
Satellites can help detect, monitor and predict critical global phenomena in agriculture, oil and gas, mining, environmental and other sectors, with up to 50 times greater detail. Pixxel also launched its in-house Earth observation studio, Aurora, to make satellite image analysis easily accessible.
The company has also raised more than $70 million from Google, Lightspeed, Radical Ventures, Relativity’s Jordan Noone, Seraphim Capital, Ryan Johnson, Blume Ventures, Sparta LLC, Accenture and others.
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