Good morning. Here's your federal-contracting briefing for July 17, 2026 — 1 new item 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.

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