NASA races to keep Artemis II on schedule, even when workers aren’t being paid

NASA's Artemis II Orion spacecraft on Thursday, August 7, 2025, inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Credit: NASA/Skip Williams

It has been nearly one month since many parts of the federal government shut down after lawmakers missed a budget deadline at the end of September, but so far, NASA’s most critical operations have been unaffected by the political impasse in Washington, DC.

That may change soon. Federal civil servants and NASA contractors are not getting paid during the shutdown, even if agency leaders have deemed their tasks essential and directed them to continue working. Jobs classified as essential include employees operating and safeguarding the International Space Station and NASA’s fleet of robotic probes exploring the Solar System and beyond.

Many employees at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida remain at work, too. Their job is to keep the Artemis II mission ...