The week began with a dramatic achievement in space exploration: Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed on the Moon at 3:34 am ET on March 2. This operational triumph was swiftly followed by another anticipated lunar touchdown: Intuitive Machines’s IM-2 landed on Thursday, carrying payloads like NASA’s PRIME-1 drill.
Meanwhile, SpaceX prepared for its eighth Starship test flight (IFT-8) from Boca Chica, with launches scheduled for Monday evening (March 3). Also, NASA planned to launch SPHEREx and PUNCH from Vandenberg, though a prelaunch news conference was unexpectedly canceled.
Capitol Hill in Motion
Budget Battles Intensify
In Congress, the House passed its FY 2025 Budget Resolution the previous week, setting the stage for tense negotiations with the Senate and looming deadlines. The existing Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the government was scheduled to expire on March 14, raising concerns amid partisan disagreements. Notably, Democratic leaders Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) warned against efforts to incorporate controversial spending cuts into future plans, highlighting shutdown risks.
State of the Union—Space in the Spotlight?
The week’s legislative rhythm was punctuated by Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. While it remained uncertain whether space priorities would feature prominently, observers speculated that recent lunar milestones might inspire presidential remarks.
Hearings and Markups
- House Energy and Commerce Committee held a markup of 12 bills, including the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act (H.R. 1139), aimed at bolstering satellite use in agriculture.
- On Wednesday, the House Science, Space, and Technology (SS&T) Subcommittee convened a hearing titled “Assessing the Threat to U.S. Funded Research.” One of the speakers was MIT planetary scientist Maria Zuber, whose insights likely touched on space research given her leadership of a Mars Sample Return review.
Spaceflight & Strategic Overlaps
- SPHEREx a space telescope designed to survey galaxies and stars, and PUNCH, aiming to study the solar wind, were slated for launch (with the preview scrubbed).
- On-orbit news events included a briefing with Crew-9 astronauts as they prepared for return, and later in the week, a Crew-10 overview briefing at Kennedy Space Center.
⏰ Daylight Saving Time
As a reminder to policy watchers coordinating across zones, Daylight Saving Time began in the U.S. at 2:00 am on Sunday, March 9 (excluding Arizona and Hawaii), a temporal shift noted in congressional reporting.
Week-at-a-Glance Table
| Domain | Key Highlights |
|---|---|
| Space Missions | Firefly and IM-2 landings on Moon; SpaceX Starship IFT-8; SPHEREx & PUNCH launches |
| Congressional Activity | Budget resolution passed; CR expires Mar 14; House & Senate negotiations underway |
| Legislative Action | Precision Agriculture satellite bill markup; SS&T hearing with Maria Zuber |
| Presidential Agenda | State of the Union address potential space focus |
| Timing Notes | DST begins March 9; impacts scheduling for virtual/international coordination |
Conclusion
From lunar landings to budget brinkmanship, the week of March 2–9, 2025, encapsulated a rare convergence of spaceflight milestones and legislative momentum. The simultaneous success of commercial lunar missions and the calendar pressures of federal funding highlighted the growing interdependence of exploration and policymaking. As the CR expiry loomed, stakeholders across the Hill and NASA faced high stakes, determining whether America would continue its cosmic momentum or stall at terrestrial gates.
