NASA's next mission to Mars is in jeopardy as the U.S. government shutdown put 97% of NASA workers on leave (Wikimedia Commons)

NASA's $650 million Mars MAVEN mission, due to launch on November 18, could be rescheduled for 2016 if it misses its launch window. NASA has been working on this mission for more than 10 years, with the aim of the mission to study Mars' upper atmosphere to see how it has changed with time. But with about 97 percent of NASA's workers currently on leave, the longer the shutdown lasts, the lesser the chances of an on-time launch.

Tom Jones, a former NASA astronaut who successfully completed four flights on the Space Shuttle before retiring, said to RT – 

"It’s frustrating because everyone has deadlines. Everyone has a schedule to keep and to be told to mark time and loose this time makes everyone feel that they’re not able to do their job. And people at NASA tend to be very dedicated, driven people, who want to make deadlines, who want to make projects go forward and so they find it frustrating just not to be able to work on them at all."

Bruce Jakosky, a government contractor directing the MAVEN mission, said –

"After a week, I'm really going to start to worry. I can still work. I'm focused on getting ready for science when we arrive at Mars. But the real work on the spacecraft has stopped. We are just under seven weeks to launch. We have tasks scheduled every day. Every day we're shutdown does hurt."

Jakosky also talked about how the delay in the MAVEN mission could have considerable ramifications in terms of NASA's research aims. 

"Our science is tied to the solar cycle. If we launch this year, we're seeing the sun when it's reasonably active. In 26 months, it will be at a solar minimum, which is a much less interesting time to be looking because there is less influence on the Mars atmosphere. The next time it will reach maximum will be in about 11 years. That launch period opens in 46 days, whether we're ready or not."

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