Parts of space exploration on hold due to Coronavirus – WTSP.com

March 24, 2020

From studying our planet, to space flight, to astronomy, everything we know about space exploration seems limitless. But not even the wonderful world of space can be immune to the coronavirus.

Just like the rest of the world, thousands of NASA employees are working from home, and already have been since mid-March. But a change in workflow is not the only impact seen within the space industry.

A big part of working towards the future comes with planning, most of which involve the great minds of the world coming together in one room. However, cancellations of multiple astronomy conferences took events off the table.

Education and research in the field of astronomy have also had a wrench thrown in plans — not only for those looking to pursue a degree in this field but also for those making great strides in future projects and missions. Everything from networking, in-person meetings, to “hands-on” training, has quickly turned into a remote/online method.

As for future missions, NASA officials report that the mission surrounding the James Webb Space Telescope has been put on hold as California follows restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This telescope will aim to further expand the discoveries of the Hubble Telescope with longer wavelength coverage and improved sensitivity. And this is just one mission. Another revolves around NASA’s next Mars mission, a launch that was scheduled this summer to carry the rover, Perseverance.

The concept behind postponing any aircraft-based science flights is that while some tasks can be tackled remotely, building a spacecraft to carry these experiments, cannot.

Down the road, we’ll learn more about the impacts to future science experiments and space exploration, as a whole.

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