Most US science agencies will see their budgets frozen at 2008 levels under a massive $630-billion spending bill that was passed by Congress on 27 September. The 'continuing resolution' keeps the government operating until March 2009, when a new president and new Congress will tackle funding priorities.

A few agencies did get new dollars for 2009. Science and technology funding within the Department of Defense, for instance, rose 7%, and research and development funding at the Department of Homeland Security rose 9%.

The bill also provides NASA with permission to buy flights on Soyuz spacecraft from Russia until 2016, in order to ferry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired.