The United States government is shut down. The ramifications of this are both broad and deep, and I urge you to read the numerous articles on Slate covering this news.
Since space is my place, though, I want to remind you that the shutdown means NASA is grounded. A staggering 97 percent of NASA employees have been furloughed. This means all nonessential science has been stopped dead.
To me, all science is essential, so perhaps I should give some details. So much work has been halted that it’s far easier to say who is going to work today. Basically, it's only people involved in International Space Station operations—ensuing the safety of humans currently in space is a clear priority—as well as people who make sure NASA property is protected. (UPDATE, Oct. 1, 16:00 UTC: To be clear, operations for missions currently underway are also being continued.)
What this really means, though, is that about 17,500 NASA employees are staying home today. Out of 18,000 NASA employees.
This may severely affect future missions. Any mission not already underway will have its work halted. As an urgent example, up until today NASA scientists and engineers were busily preparing the Mars MAVEN mission for its scheduled launch on Nov. 18. That work must cease, and the ramifications are not good: Launching a probe to another planet is beholden to the laws of physics as much as to those of Congress. Mars and Earth must be in the right positions for the spacecraft to launch, and those windows only occur every 26 months. If MAVEN doesn’t launch, it’ll be 2016 before worlds align again. The cost for this will be large; people will have to find other work (where it’s unclear if and when they can go back to the old mission and how much time it will take to get back up to speed). It’s a physical risk to wait as well; the spacecraft will have to be transported and stored, and every trip on Earth increases the chance of a problem. The critical malfunction of the NASA Galileo probe was almost certainly due to a delay in launch.
The government shutdown also means all NASA outreach is offline, and that includes all websites and social media.
I know what you are thinking, "Come on Gryphen with so many people suffering from the shutdown surely NASA is not that important of a concern"
Au contraire mon frere, it is VERY important.
It is my firmly held belief that our prime directive as human beings to explore the world and universe around us, and anything which interferes in that is actively impeding our progress and our destiny.
And this is especially relevant now since the Mars Rover recently discovered water on Mars.
That's right, freaking water, on freaking Mars!
Look folks this government shutdown is wrong and hurtful for a whole slew of reasons, but in my mind the fact that it interferes with our ability to discover, learn, and explore may be the most painful reason of all.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThen you have the ecstasy the ultra-right fanatical Xtians will experience due to science being thwarted even slightly.
ReplyDeleteYou just KNOW those assholes will be dancing because what isn't in the bible is anathema to them!
Remember, the petulant toddlers who shut down the gov't rather than let someone with a preexisting condition get health coverage don't *care* about learning, or science, or other people. They're selfish babies.
ReplyDeleteIn Sarah Palin's CEO mind, for the nation she would be so blessed to be Chief Executive of - she and Todd would simply put their pen to paper in their line-by-line analysis of the budget and write "Not a government responsibility!"
ReplyDeleteIn her first policy speech as McCain's VP candidate: "You’ve heard about some of these pet projects they really don’t make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not."
Yep, try talking science with a Palin-type and it goes absolutely nowhere. Science illiteracy is celebrated in this country. Yet, when I was a kid in the ‘60s most of us were encouraged to take classes that would further understanding of the world around us and make us explorers of our world. Such a damn shame to see how the low information, deluded evangelical right has muzzled such research and development. It will be civilization’s undoing.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who think, NASA is not important to life here on earth, THINK AGAIN!
ReplyDeleteYou can 'google' NASA spinoffs, and you find a myriad of things.
Here is a list of the top ten spinoffs: http://zidbits.com/2010/11/top-ten-nasa-spinoffs/
Other spinoffs from earlier days: the infamous 'Tang' drink, pens that can write even held upside-down, Velcro, the cooling garments for people with MS, and many, many more.
Yep, NASA scientists are furloughed. The WHOLE mars rover team is furloughed, every scientist is sitting home with no pay.
ReplyDeleteSome may not think this is very important, but it is.
I happen to have a relative, a niece, one of the "young gun" scientists that developed the Mars rover is now sitting home....but here is the problem, she is not sitting home crying, she has 5 employment offers already from the Aerospace industry around the world.....we will soon lose the best and brightest if we let them sit at home and look at job offers over the current salary they aren't recieving this week.
Some may say, well if it's for more $$$ they will leave anyway, and that is not true. Employees typically stay where they are comfortable(it's basic human nature) but take away their comfort and the first thing they do is look for other security, in this case a paycheck.
My niece has formerly worked in Europe, before NASA, she is not afraid of a new job and travel, but she is afraid of no paychecks.
I have no clue what she will do, it may depend on if she is working next Monday or not. But believe me, after that her brain is up for hire. And she is not alone, this could leave to the biggest "brain drain" since the Soviet union quit paying their scientists and many came to the USA.
Little Rabbit
This IS a big deal. The development of a lot of things we take for granted came from the space program. The Da Vinci Robotic Device surgeons use, the miniaturization of electronic parts, pills that can scan and report what 's going on in the digestive and circulatory system, microsurgery, enteric coated and time released drugs, lasers and a slew of inventions that help people from all social strata get potable water and dispose of waste without spreading disease or harming the environment. I read a thesis years ago and my jaw dropped at how much this program has helped humanity.
ReplyDeleteTheir "windows of opportunity" are critical. Add what Little Rabbit so eloquently explained @11:49, and the damage may take years to recover.
TY Anita
DeleteLittle Rabbit
You'll be happy to know that funding has been reinstated...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbcnews.com/science/nasas-maven-mission-mars-back-track-after-shutdown-holdup-8C11332740
too bad we never went to the moon. A nice way to funnel our tax dollars. All a big hoax. I'm sure we have some capable scientists but this is all b.s.
ReplyDelete