Harvard University has announced a $250 million investment to sustain vital research programs in the face of steep federal funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration.
The move follows a sweeping $2.6 billion reduction in government grants to the Ivy League institution, citing alleged discriminatory practices and refusal to comply with federal oversight mandates. The cuts, which Harvard is actively challenging in court, have already suspended or canceled dozens of projects—some of which were considered critical to public health and technological innovation.

University President Alan Garber and Provost John Manning issued a joint statement on Wednesday, emphasizing the urgent need to protect research initiatives. “While we cannot fully offset the financial blow from halted federal support, we are committed to backing essential research during this transitional period,” they said. The university is also working with faculty to secure alternative funding channels.

Harvard has strongly criticized the federal measures, calling the termination of grants “unlawful” and accusing the administration of interfering with academic independence. The university contends that the loss of funding not only halts groundbreaking work but also threatens years of scientific progress.

At the heart of the dispute is a broader political clash over university governance. Harvard, whose endowment reached $53.2 billion in 2024, has become a focal point of the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape higher education policy. The White House has demanded greater control over admissions, hiring, and the political climate on campus—demands Harvard has resisted.

The administration has defended the funding freeze as part of a broader campaign to address what it characterizes as pervasive anti-Semitism on campuses and to roll back diversity programs. Critics argue these moves are part of a larger effort to suppress progressive academic culture and penalize dissent over U.S. foreign policy, especially in light of recent student protests against the war in Gaza.

In recent weeks, federal authorities have also taken steps to revoke visas of international students involved in these demonstrations, accusing them of ties to militant organizations—allegations civil rights groups and university leaders have strongly disputed.

With tensions between the federal government and top academic institutions mounting, Harvard’s legal challenge could set a precedent for how universities navigate political interference while safeguarding research, free speech, and academic autonomy.

In a powerful address at the 8th edition of the Chhatra Sansad India Conclave (CSI), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) Chairman V. Narayanan inspired over 20,000 young minds to push boundaries and take India to new heights in space exploration and scientific innovation. His message was clear: the nation’s future in technology will be shaped by the youth, and they are crucial in propelling India to the forefront of global advancements.

In his keynote, V. Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO, spoke about India’s ongoing strides in space exploration. He emphasized that India is not in competition with any other nation but is focused solely on advancing its own technological progress. “India’s future is in the hands of its youth. You are the driving force behind the country’s technological and scientific transformation,” Narayanan said, calling for continued innovation in space research.

The conclave, held at Lovely Professional University, gathered influential leaders, policymakers, and thinkers under the theme “Vision India 2047: Bharat @ 100.” The event was a platform for dynamic conversations about India’s growth and the role youth will play in shaping the nation’s future as it approaches its centenary of independence.

Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal, Member of Indian Parliament and Founder Chancellor of LPU, set the tone for the event, urging the youth to embrace their power to reshape India’s trajectory. He highlighted LPU’s commitment to nurturing future leaders who will lead the country in global arenas.

Other prominent speakers at the conclave included Smriti Irani, former Union Minister, who encouraged the youth to leverage their talents to build businesses and enterprises that would drive India’s economic future. Motivational speaker Jaya Kishori inspired attendees to embody discipline, values, and purpose-driven action, while Temjen Imna Along, Minister of Tourism & Higher Education for Nagaland, spoke of an inclusive India where progress benefits all regions and communities.

The event also saw insightful video messages from several distinguished figures, including Nitin Gadkari, India’s Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, and Vikrant Massey, Indian actor, emphasizing the role of youth in the ongoing digital revolution and India’s rise on the global stage.

A key feature of the conclave was a thought-provoking debate on “One Nation, One Election,” which sparked discussions on the potential impact of a unified electoral system on India’s future governance. The debate, chaired by Maulana Kalbe Rushaid Rizvi, allowed students to actively contribute their views on shaping India’s democratic structure.

On March 2, NASA confirmed the first ever successful soft-landing attempt by a private company. Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander, the Blue Ghost Mission 1 (named after a rare species of fireflies thought native to the United States), touched down at precisely 2.04 p.m. IST, near Mons Latrielle at Mare Crisium on the moon’s near side. Firefly Aerospace issued a press release shortly thereafter.

The soft-landing comes after another US-based private company, Intuitive Machines, attempted one a year ago. On that occasion however, the lander, known as Odyssey, bounced off hard on the lunar surface at touchdown, following a steep descent. It rested titled with a stray lunar rock to offer a shoulder. In contrast, Blue Ghost which stuck both an upright landing, and its payloads intact.

The landing was the culmination of a 45 day trip that began early this year. On January 15, Blue Ghost blasted to space aboard a SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Block 5 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. Sharing space during the launch was yet another commercial lunar lander, the Hakuto-R Mission 2  – built and operated by the Japanese space technology company, ispace. However, Hakuto-R has a projected landing date on the moon sometime in April, owing to a different arrival approach.

Firefly had released pictures of the lunar terrain, the Blue Ghost‘s photographed from its landing site. One of them shows a rugged gray dusty terrain, with a portion of the lander’s chassis in view in the foreground. Whereas a second one showed a desolate terrain with the earth reflecting sunlight above the horizon. Blue Ghost‘s shadow looms in the foreground in the image.

This site located close to Mons Latrielle, is what scientists think is an ancient basin formed upon a rogue asteroid impact eons ago. More than 500 km wide, Mare Crisium, as the basin is known by, is believed to have been flooded by lava in volcanic eruptions dating to some 4 billion years ago.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that carried Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander, Blue Ghost Mission 1, is seen stationed here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida | Credit: NASA

Laying groundwork for NASA’s Artemis

“Firefly is literally and figuratively over the Moon,” Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said shortly after the landing, in a press release.  “Our Blue Ghost lunar lander now has a permanent home on the lunar surface with 10 NASA payloads and a plaque with every Firefly employee’s name. This bold, unstoppable team has proven we’re well equipped to deliver reliable, affordable access to the Moon, and we won’t stop there. With annual lunar missions, Firefly is paving the way for a lasting lunar presence that will help unlock access to the rest of the solar system for our nations, our partners, and the world.”

In 2023, Firefly Aerospace ferried the instruments as part of a $93.3 million contract signed with NASA as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The CLPS program is Nasa’s attempt at driving private participation on future lunar missions. But the payloads help set stage for NASA’s Artemis program, which would mark their first attempt since the Apollo program, to land astronauts on the lunar surface.

Some of the payloads reflect the new engineering demands for such long-term lunar missions. To streamline tracking lander and rovers on the moon, NASA supplied the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE). It is a GNSS receiver to help earth-orbiting satellite constellations, including GPS and the Galileo, track the lunar lander with high accuracy in real-time. Another one is the Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) that investigates possible soil degradation left behind in the wake of a typical lunar mission soft-landing.

Other payloads were designed to explore various science objectives. Research institutes and universities across the United States contributed to a variety of instruments. They included laser retro reflectors to measure distances, an x-ray imaging device to study how the solar wind affects space weather on earth; a probe which can inject itself into the moon’s sub-surface to measure heat dissipation.

In a press release applauding Blue Ghost’s successful soft-landing attempt, NASA’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, said, “This incredible achievement demonstrates how Nasa and American companies are leading the way in space exploration for the benefit of all … We have already learned many lessons – and the technological and science demonstrations onboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 will improve our ability to not only discover more science, but to ensure the safety of our spacecraft instruments for future human exploration – both in the short term and long term.”