Political

Unbelievable, still a harsh truth - NASA has downed its shutter until the indefinite period. And this shocking move has happened barely six months ahead of the legendary spare research agency's third mission to send man to moon.

 

The move has sent a cold wave across the globe, shattering the courage of the space scientists. The space research organizations have estimated the tragic bid as a sudden blackout leading towards the 'endless' Black Hole of international space research. 

 

More than 15,000 National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) civil servants have been furloughed as the US federal government enters the shutdown.

 

NASA was founded on 29 July, 1958 during the tenure of President Dwight D Eisenhower and the agency opened for business on 1 October, 1958 - after just three months.

 

On 20 July, 1969 NASA successfully had secured Appolo 11 Mission carrying men to moon for the first time in world history. The last mission was the voyage of Appolo 17 in 1972. After more than 50 years, NASA further had geared up for it's ambitious Artemis 2 Mission and recently it was joined Orion Stage Adaptor rocket at the Vehicle Assembly Building of Kennedy Space Center where the technocrats from the Marshall Space Flight Center of NASA's Alabama wing joined hands. But, these all received a severe jolt for now with the unprecedented bid by the Donald Trump administration.

 

The grinding halt forces NASA and other agencies to scale back nearly all of their day-to-day operations after lawmakers in Washington DC failed to pass a government funding bill by the deadline. Only a fraction of NASA's workforce remains on duty, assigned to missions that can not be paused without risking astronaut safety, critical hardware, or the Trump administration’s highest priorities.

 

With most science programs and public-facing activities frozen, the shutdown leaves NASA in a holding pattern until Congress approves new funding.

 

Perhaps most importantly, NASA gave hope to the entire world decades ago. In addition to its endeavors in spaceflight, NASA brought the idea of space exploration, and using a presence in space to better understand the Universe around: the Earth, the Sun, the Solar System, and the greater Universe. Its four main science directives, for decades, have brought the world a superior understanding of Earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics than ever before.

 

The shutdown slowly and silently began on 1 October, 2025, when the US government failed to pass a budget or temporary funding plan. This is the first federal shutdown in nearly six years and has forced thousands of government employees, including many at NASA, to be sent home back. The bare minimum essential staff needed to protect life and property are however still been kept on to roll working.

 

For NASA, this means most projects ranging from space science research to educational programs have now been paused with this shutdown. Non-essential staff are legally barred from working, even voluntarily.

 

What’s still happening in NASA? 

 

Despite the quiet, NASA’s vital missions however still remains to continue. A small team now monitoring the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), spacecraft exploring the solar system, and planetary defense activities, like tracking asteroids. These operations are critical for safety and cannot be stopped at once, the remaining NASA officials said.