U.S. shutdown threatens launch of NASA's next mission to Mars

The latest government shutdown may cause NASA to miss its next mission to Mars.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Seven weeks before the planned launch, "we are shutdown," says project leader
• If the mission misses its window, it will have to wait another 26 months
• The MAVEN project aims to study the Red Planet's loss of much of its atmosphere
• A launch rehearsal and mission readiness review have already been canceled

 The effects of the U.S. federal government shutdown are threatening to ripple out into the solar system.

NASA's next mission to Mars, due to launch next month, is in danger of being delayed.

"We are just inside of seven weeks to launch and we are shut down," Bruce Jakosky, the head of the mission, said late Wednesday.

The project, known as Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), aims to put a spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet to study how it lost much of its atmosphere and became a desolate world.

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MAVEN is currently scheduled to take off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 18 and has a 20-day launch window.