Planet Awarded NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Evaluation Task Order for Tanager Hyperspectral Data

NASA will acquire more than 250,000 square kilometers of archive and newly tasked Tanager coverage for its assessment.

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NASA CSDA to evaluate over 250,000 square kilometers of Tanager’s high-resolution hyperspectral dataset to accelerate Earth science research, following the successful launch and first light of Tanager-2

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced that its subsidiary, Planet Labs Federal, has been awarded an evaluation task order under NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program. Under the agreement, NASA will evaluate Planet’s high-resolution Tanager hyperspectral dataset to assess its quality, reliability, and utility for supporting the agency’s Earth science goals.

Tanager, Planet's hyperspectral Earth-observation satellite

Under the agreement, NASA will acquire Tanager data covering more than 250,000 square kilometers across both recent archive data and newly tasked coverage. The evaluation will assess both Level 1C (Top-of-Atmosphere reflectance) and Level 2A (Bottom-of-Atmosphere surface reflectance) data products derived from Tanager’s state-of-the-art Dyson-type imaging spectrometer. Capable of measuring radiance across more than 400 contiguous spectral channels at 30-meter resolution, Tanager is designed to provide high spectral fidelity. Its data products are structured to support potential use with existing NASA algorithms and modeling frameworks. The evaluation will focus on establishing Tanager's utility across critical Earth science focus areas, including atmospheric composition, biodiversity, hydrology, geology, and rapid response to dynamic events like wildfires and floods. A core objective of the CSDA evaluation is enabling faster science, rapidly processing complex hyperspectral observations into research-ready datasets delivered directly via Planet's APIs to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.

“NASA’s CSDA program continues to pioneer novel pathways for commercial innovation to serve the scientific community,” said Robbie Schingler, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder at Planet. “Hyperspectral data holds immense potential for understanding our changing planet, but realizing that potential depends on how quickly and effectively scientists can put it to work. By making rich spectral data available to researchers, NASA is enabling new approaches to solve pressing environmental challenges. This evaluation will help train a whole new cadre of scientists whose results will inform future government users and commercial applications."

This milestone follows the successful launch of Tanager-2 on October 1, 2026. Just a week after launch, Planet captured and released Tanager-2’s first light image, revealing high-resolution spectral capabilities and detecting its first methane plume over Spain’s Costa Blanca. The rapid capture and publication of Tanager-2 imagery underscores the platform’s operational readiness and ability to deliver actionable environmental data.

The NASA CSDA evaluation complements ongoing independent assessments of the Tanager constellation, including an evaluation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) focused on on-orbit performance and calibration accuracy. Together, these evaluations provide information that Planet uses to support its ongoing efforts to ensure data quality, scientific integrity, and cross‑agency collaboration To further broaden community access and foster open research, Planet is also enabling streamlined data availability through OpenSTAC standards, and recently launched the Tanager Open Data Competition. This competition allows researchers and developers worldwide to explore, analyze, and build applications using Tanager hyperspectral data.

At the conclusion of the evaluation, NASA will publish a comprehensive report detailing the data quality, utility, and potential for broader integration across Earth science research initiatives, which will help inform decisions to make Tanager data available to the federally funded scientific community.

To learn more about Planet’s Tanager constellation and hyperspectral capabilities, visit www.planet.com/products/hyperspectral/.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make global change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites in history. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to over 1,000 customers, including the world’s leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, natural resources, and finance companies, as well as governmental agencies on five continents. Planet is a public benefit corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @planet.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements” about Planet within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about the expansion of the high resolution capacity of Planet’s fleet, the delivery of such capacity to Planet customers, and the Company’s ability to realize any of the potential benefits from product and satellite launches, either as designed, within the expected time frame, in a cost-effective manner, or at all. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements, including risks related to the macroeconomic environment. Such factors are detailed in Planet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Planet does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261021824897/en/

Planet Press
Claire Bentley Dale
press@planet.com

Planet Investor Relations
Cleo Palmer-Poroner
ir@Planet.com

Source: Planet

Key Terms

hyperspectral dataset technical

A hyperspectral dataset is a collection of images or measurements where each pixel contains a high-resolution spectrum of reflected or emitted light across many narrow, contiguous wavelength bands. Unlike ordinary color or multispectral images that record only a few broad bands, hyperspectral data capture detailed spectral signatures that allow identification and discrimination of materials or substances by their unique spectral patterns; using it requires calibration and specialized processing (e.g., noise removal, dimensionality reduction and classification) because the data are large and spectrally dense.

top-of-atmosphere reflectance technical

Top-of-atmosphere reflectance is the fraction of sunlight that is reflected from Earth and recorded by a satellite sensor at the top of the atmosphere, expressed relative to the incoming solar irradiance. It is calculated from the sensor's measured radiance corrected for the sun–sensor geometry (solar angle and Earth–Sun distance) but still includes the effects of the atmosphere (scattering and absorption); it is not the same as surface reflectance, which has had atmospheric effects removed.

bottom-of-atmosphere surface reflectance technical

The fraction of sunlight (or other downwelling irradiance) that is reflected upward from the Earth's surface just above the ground, expressed as a unitless reflectance value after removing the effects of the atmosphere between the surface and the satellite or airborne sensor. It is produced by applying atmospheric correction to top‑of‑atmosphere measurements so the number represents surface properties at specific wavelengths; its accuracy depends on the atmospheric correction, viewing and illumination geometry, and local effects like adjacency and surface anisotropy.