Good morning. Here's your federal-contracting briefing for July 16, 2026 — 3 new items from across the market.

📡 The Wire

NASA Has Obligated $1.6 Billion to Caltech's JPL Under Mars Sample Return Task Order
Federal contracting records show NASA has obligated $1,604,628,076 to the California Institute of Technology under a task order for Mars Sample Return Phase A work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The order runs through September 2028 under JPL's FFRDC contract vehicle; Congress's FY2026 appropriations bill, passed in January 2026, ended funding for the existing MSR program structure.

NASA's SpaceX Human Landing System Contract Shows $3.06 Billion in Cumulative Obligations
NASA has obligated a cumulative $3,055,729,526.07 to date under its Human Landing System (HLS) contract with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), according to USAspending.gov. The definitive, firm-fixed-price contract, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, was signed May 13, 2020 and carries a potential value of $4,549,695,247.92 if all options are exercised, with performance running through December 6, 2027.

NASA Task Order to Caltech-Run JPL for Europa Clipper Tops $2.97 Billion in Obligations
A NASA task order (award ID 80NM0018F0615) issued to the California Institute of Technology under its FFRDC sponsoring agreement to operate the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has reached $2,967,636,551.98 in total obligations for the Europa Clipper mission. The task order, issued under parent IDIQ 80NM0018D0004, has a period of performance from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2028, with a base-and-all-options value of $3,889,273,743.00.

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