Federal contractor · TUCSON, AZ

PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE

PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE received $447K in federal contract obligations in FY2026, on 2 awards (+51% vs FY2025). Since FY2020: $3.9M. Its largest customer was National Aeronautics and Space Administration ($447K). It also received $11.3M in federal grants and other assistance in FY2026.

Obligations · FY2026
$447K
New awards
2
Sole-source
4.5%
Single offer
96%
UEI
Q7KKMKT2ANN7
Other than small businessNonprofit
Open in the contracts explorerRelationship graph

Spending by fiscal year

Obligations per federal fiscal year (October–September).

  1. 2.3MFY2020
  2. 197.1KFY2021
  3. 0FY2022
  4. 588.3KFY2023
  5. 295.7KFY2025
  6. 447KFY2026

Top buying agencies

Obligations in FY2026.

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration$447K100%
    2 awards

What was bought · Where the work was performed

Obligations in FY2026.

What was bought

  1. Research & development$427K96%
  2. Professional services$20K4.5%

Where the work was performed

  1. Pima County, AZ$447K100%

Integrity signals

Shares of the year's obligations, next to the country's.

  • Low competition100%
    US 39% · $447K
  • Sole-source awards4.5%
    US 30% · $20K
  • Single-offer competitions96%
    US 8.7% · $427K
  • Urgency justifications0.0%
    US 5.1% · $0

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Agencies awarding it sole-source contracts

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration$20K
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration · 1 awards

Largest awards

  1. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CAPTURE INSTRUMENT REQUIREMENTS IN A PRELIMINARY INSTRUMENT FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT, INITIATE LONG-LEAD MATERIALS PROCUREMENT AND HOLD A HERITAGE REQUIREMENTS REVIEW.$3.7M
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Pima County, AZ· Research & development· Nov 13, 2019 – Sep 17, 2026· 80MSFC20C0015
  2. MARS SURVEY FOR LOCATIONS FOR MARS HYDROELECTRIC POWER$20K
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Pima County, AZ· Professional services· Apr 13, 2026 – Apr 13, 2026· 80NSSC26P0464

Federal grants & assistance received

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE received $11.3M in federal assistance in FY2026, on 105 actions (21 new awards), +25% vs FY2025. Its largest program was 43.001 · Science ($10.1M).

Assistance · FY2026
$11.3M
New awards
21
Actions
105
Since FY2021
$66.4M

Assistance by fiscal year

  1. 13.6MFY2021
  2. 13.3MFY2022
  3. 10.5MFY2023
  4. 8.5MFY2024
  5. 9.1MFY2025
  6. 11.3MFY2026

By type

  1. Grants$11.3M100%

Top programs

  1. 43.001 · Science$10.1M89%
  2. 47.076 · Stem Education (Formerly Education and Human Resources)$1.2M10%
  3. 47.083 · Integrative Activities$59.9K0.5%

Awarding agencies

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration$10.1M89%
  2. National Science Foundation$1.2M11%

Largest awards

  1. RENEWAL FOR THE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOTICE - THE SMALL BODIES NODE OF NASA'S PLANETARY DATA SYSTEM WITH THE MINOR PLANET CENTER$5.4M
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Cooperative agreement· Dec 2, 2021 – Jun 29, 2026· 80NSSC22M0026
  2. THE ULTRAVIOLET MICROMIRROR IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH$4.5M
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Project grant· Aug 18, 2023 – Sep 8, 2026· 80NSSC23K1286
  3. THE NEAR INFRARED VOLATILES SPECTROMETER SYSTEM (NIRVSS) IS AN INSTRUMENT PACKAGE DESIGNED TO ACQUIRE IMAGING AND SPECTRAL DATA OF TARGETS…$1.8M
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Cooperative agreement· Feb 19, 2021 – Jul 27, 2026· 80NSSC20M0115
  4. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CULTIVATING TOMORROW'S INNOVATORS THROUGH EXPLORING PLANETARY IMAGES WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE -THE RAPID…$1.2M
    47.076 · Stem Education (Formerly Education and Human Resources)· National Science Foundation· Project grant· Apr 28, 2026 – Jun 26, 2026· 2620566
  5. 22-MDAP22_2-0035 HIGH-RESOLUTION 3D RADAR MAPPING ANALYSIS AND MODELING OF THE INTERNAL LAYERS WITHIN THE NORTH POLAR LAYERED DEPOSITS$978.2K
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Project grant· Jun 22, 2023 – Jan 16, 2026· 80NSSC23K1076
  6. 22-ANGSA22_2-0002 SPECTROSCOPIES FOR ASSESSING REDOX CONDITIONS (SPARC)$919.9K
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Project grant· Aug 8, 2023 – Aug 5, 2026· 80NSSC23K1299

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 8, 2026, loaded Oct 8, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Subawards

Matched by Unique Entity ID: the first-tier subawards this organization reported as a prime recipient, and those primes reported paying it.

As a prime: who it pays · FY2026

  • Sub-grants: $656.3K (8 subawards)

7 sub-recipients

  1. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE$222.2K34%
    SAN ANTONIO, TX · 2 subawards
  2. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ$188.1K29%
    SANTA CRUZ, CA · 1 subaward
  3. UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE$115.5K18%
    KNOXVILLE, TN · 1 subaward
  4. PURDUE UNIVERSITY$55.8K8.5%
    WEST LAFAYETTE, IN · 1 subaward
  5. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY$49.7K7.6%
    CAMBRIDGE, MA · 1 subaward
  6. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$24.9K3.8%
    WASHINGTON, DC · 1 subaward

As a sub-recipient: who pays it · FY2026

  • Sub-contracts: $58.5K (1 subaward)
  • Sub-grants: $390.2K (7 subawards)

8 primes

  1. BAY AREA ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE$94.9K21%
    MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA · 1 subaward
  2. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION$72.1K16%
    WASHINGTON, DC · 1 subaward
  3. BOARD OF REGENTS OF NEVADA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION$63K14%
    RENO, NV · 1 subaward
  4. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE$58.5K13%
    SAN ANTONIO, TX · 1 subaward
  5. RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY$51.5K11%
    NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ · 1 subaward
  6. UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA$49.7K11%
    TUCSON, AZ · 1 subaward
  7. THE TRUSTEES OF THE STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY$30.5K6.8%
    HOBOKEN, NJ · 1 subaward
  8. TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE$28.5K6.4%
    HANOVER, NH · 1 subaward

By fiscal year

  • FY2021: $3.2M paid out · $1.9M received
  • FY2022: $3.7M paid out · $2M received
  • FY2023: $1.5M paid out · $3M received
  • FY2024: $6.7M paid out · $1.8M received
  • FY2025: $5.7M paid out · $1.3M received
  • FY2026: $656.3K paid out · $448.7K received

Primes report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more themselves, and many go unreported (GAO-24-106214). Reporting moved from FSRS to SAM.gov in March 2025 and fewer sub-contracts have been reported since. Amounts are what primes reported; they are never added to prime award totals.

Source: Subawards (first-tier sub-contracts and sub-grants reported under FFATA) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov (reports filed in SAM.gov, formerly FSRS)), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026 · Subawards loaded from FY2021.

Teaming partners

Companies this company reported paying, primes that reported paying it, from FFATA subaward reports.

Companies it pays

51 companies · $21.6M reported

  1. THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO$4M
    BOULDER, CO · 8 subawards
  2. MALIN SPACE SCIENCE SYSTEMS, INC$2.3M
    SAN DIEGO, CA · 1 subaward · Scientific research and development services
  3. UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA$1.9M
    TUCSON, AZ · 15 subawards

Primes that pay it

36 companies · $10.4M reported

  1. UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA$1.9M
    TUCSON, AZ · 11 subawards
  2. THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK$736.3K
    STONY BROOK, NY · 9 subawards
  3. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE$639.2K
    SAN ANTONIO, TX · 7 subawards · Architectural, engineering, and related services

Showing the top 3 of each list. Open the profile for potential partners and the full lists.

Primes report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more themselves, and many go unreported (GAO-24-106214). Reporting moved from FSRS to SAM.gov in March 2025 and fewer sub-contracts have been reported since. Amounts are what primes reported; they are never added to prime award totals.

Source: Subawards (first-tier sub-contracts and sub-grants reported under FFATA) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov (reports filed in SAM.gov, formerly FSRS)), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026 · Subawards loaded from 2021.

Competitors

Companies that win from the same buyers in the same markets: obligations by agency and industry compared over the last three fiscal years.

Compared on 1 market (agency × industry), FY2024–FY2026.

  1. OPTOMEC INC$749.8K−100% in FY2026
    ALBUQUERQUE, NM · 100% of this company's obligations are in markets they both serveNational Aeronautics and Space Administration · Scientific research and development services
  2. MUDAWAR THERMAL SYSTEMS INC$733K
    WEST LAFAYETTE, IN · 99% of this company's obligations are in markets they both serveNational Aeronautics and Space Administration · Scientific research and development services
  3. INPRENTUS INC.$731.3K−48% in FY2026
    CHAMPAIGN, IL · 98% of this company's obligations are in markets they both serveNational Aeronautics and Space Administration · Scientific research and development services

Showing the top 3 of 25 competitors. Open the profile for the full list.

Who sells to the same buyers in the same markets, not who wins against whom on a given contract. Prime contract obligations by the agency and NAICS code of each award; subawards are never added. A company is a family of legal entities, joined by parent UEI or, in part, by an AI reading of names.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026 · FY2024–FY2026.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.