India, Aug. 6 -- In 2024, NASA was looking at how to incorporate hyperspectral imagery at scale. Having been introduced in the early 1980s, hyperspectral imaging quickly became the standard for aerial imagery, but the problem NASA had on its hands was using hyperspectral imaging cost-effectively to supplement its Earth science research from space.

It had already begun roping in startups in 2017, but in 2024, it did something it had never done. It selected an Indian startup for the first time. That startup was Bengaluru-based Pixxel, selected for its hyperspectral Earth observation datasets with proprietary granular insights for work in climate change, agriculture, biodiversity, resource management and more.

Pixxel's selection under NASA...