The government shutdown has not dampened the spirits of astronomers in space who continue to tweet pictures from their spacecrafts.
The U.S. government shutdown has come as a major blow to federal organizations and many have been forced to shut down operations. The U.S. space agency, NASA, has also faced the brunt of this shutdown and its website has been suspended ever since.
But oblivious to this government chaos , astronauts Mike Hopkins and Karen Nyber who are currently in the International Space Station, in orbit 250 miles above Earth, continue tweeting interesting photos from space.
Check out some of the pictures they tweeted below:
#Cygnus, approaching us from below as we pass the coast of South Africa. @OrbitalSciences. September 29. pic.twitter.com/aqZ3ociqD8
- Karen L. Nyberg (@AstroKarenN) September 29, 2013
Have you ever watched the clouds go by & let your imagination see different shapes? It works from space as well. pic.twitter.com/LpEJHmGGpv - Mike Hopkins (@AstroIllini) October 2, 2013
Say cheese! pic.twitter.com/ShjsvD0QCj
- Karen L. Nyberg (@AstroKarenN) October 3, 2013
The NASA website was not the only one that was forced to be temporarily suspended. Earlier, White House Office of Management and Budget gave all federal agencies guidance on how to run the agency and host their websites in case the government fails to agree on a budget.
The office advised agencies to either shut down or stop maintaining their websites, unless the website is absolutely essential to run "everyday activities." For example, the office recommended the IRS site remained live to facilitate the collection of tax.
Even if a website needs to stay live, the office recommended that it should be maintained at the lowest cost possible.
"The mere benefit of continued access by the public to information about the agency's activities would not warrant the retention of personnel or the obligation of funds to maintain (or update) the agency's website during such a lapse (in funding)," the OMB memo reads.
