The longest government shutdown in U.S. history and a broad market pullback have shaken investor confidence, but both are temporary. As defensive sectors lead and AI stocks sell off, long-term investors are being handed a rare opportunity. Smaller innovators like Rigetti, SoundHound, and Palantir are down sharply from their highs—yet the AI story is far from over.

Intuitive Machines made history with its 2024 lunar landing—but can it repeat Rigetti Computing’s meteoric run from $14 to $50 a share? Here’s what it would take for LUNR to follow that kind of trajectory, from successful moon missions to investor sentiment shifts driving the next “space economy” boom.