Above The Earth

Lost in space: Government shutdown hits NASA hard, puts $650 million robot in jeopardy

News_Johnson Space Center_NASA_by Raniero Tazzi

Government shutdown affects thousands of Johnson Space Center employees.

Photo by Raniero Tazzi

While the United States government is shut down, 97 percent of the 18,134 NASA employees are furloughed, making it the United States agency with the highest percentage of employees currently left without work.

With 3,200 NASA personnel working at Johnson Space Center, this represents the most significant way the government shutdown affects the Houston area.

Kelly Humphries, a spokesperson for NASA, says that of the 3,200 civil servants working at Johnson Space Center, only 93 are exempt from the furlough, including those working to maintain operations aboard the International Space Station. Some of these employees, while exempt from the furlough, will not be at Johnson Space Center, but will work from home.

If the shutdown is lengthy, there may not be enough time to make sure that the Mars probe launches on schedule.

Additionally, while most of Houston's NASA civil servants are furloughed during the government shutdown, many will remain on call in case of an emergency.

Due to the government shutdown, even NASA's Internet presence is currently on hold. Everything from NASA's social media accounts to the agency's website are presently shut down. The agency went so far as to say on Twitter that it will no longer be responding to tweets and that all scheduled NASA events are "postponed or canceled until further notice."

One of the most significant problems caused by the NASA furlough is with the MAVEN probe, which is scheduled to be launched between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7 of this year. The probe, a $650 million robotic explorer, is designed to enter Mars' orbit and study the planet's atmosphere. During the shutdown, personnel working on the MAVEN project are considered as "nonessential" and have been furloughed.

If the shutdown is lengthy, there may not be enough time to make sure that the probe launches on schedule. If that is the case, the probe will be stored until the next launch window, which would delay the MAVEN launch until 2016.

unspecified

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

undefined

Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”

Above The Earth

Lost in space: Government shutdown hits NASA hard, puts $650 million robot in jeopardy

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

CultureMap Emails Are AwesomeGet Houston intel delivered daily.

We will not share or sell your email address.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get Houston intel delivered daily.