THE IMPACT OF THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON NASA

Government workers throughout the nation are being impacted by the government shutdown. Government offices and federal parks are shuttered while the United States attempts to figure things out. Nasa is one sector affected by the shutdown that is now being disregarded. About 18,000 individuals work for NASA, and all but 550 of them are now on furlough. These 550 are devoted to presently active missions and mission-critical supplies. The Maven launch in November may have the greatest stakes. The Maven is a spacecraft intended to investigate Mars’ atmosphere. Although November 18th is the planned launch date, a lot of work still has to be done in preparation. Prior to launch, testing and other preparations are needed. Whether or if this shutdown continues might possibly cause the mission to be delayed until 2016, when Mars will once again be in tight alignment with Earth. Regarding the ongoing operations, such as the Mars Rover and other robotic missions, they continue to operate and are manned by external contractors. Essential duties will continue throughout the government shutdown, even if NASA won’t be updating its website. The Maven will patiently wait at the Kennedy Space Center’s cleanroom while the NASA staff working on it are placed on furlough. Workers in the NASA cleanroom will resume work when the government shutdown ends, with the goal of completing all testing prior to the launch date.