Key Takeaways
- NASA has furloughed 83% of its federal workforce — more than 15,000 employees — during the shutdown, just as astronomers face a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
- Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb warned the U.N. this week of a possible “Black Swan Event” tied to the interstellar object, urging global coordination.
- October 3 marks a key observation window before 3I/ATLAS re-emerges from behind the sun, with ESA’s Mars and Jupiter probes preparing to collect critical data.
USA HERALD – The federal government shutdown has forced NASA to furlough more than 15,000 employees — 83% of its total civil servant workforce — in one of the largest standstills in agency history. Only a small cadre of workers deemed “essential” remain at their posts.
The timing could hardly be worse. October 3rd, represents one of the last and most crucial opportunities for astronomers to capture data on 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object racing past the sun at roughly 130,000 mph.
While NASA faces paralysis on the ground, its spacecraft already in orbit remain functional — and those instruments may determine whether humanity makes the most of this fleeting scientific opportunity.
