As Congress and the White House search for a way to reopen the government, the search for alien life is largely not impacted by one of the longest partial shutdowns in American history.
The SETI Institute, which stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a nonprofit backed by grants from NASA, philanthropists, and corporate donors, won’t let the United States be in the dark if intergalactic travelers happen to make first contact while the federal government bickers about Earthly politics.
We won’t “miss the signal,” Seth Shostak, the senior astronomer for the SETI Institute, said.
There are some inconveniences with NASA scientists working for SETI having access to their normal working stations, according to Shostak. However, the effort to find life in space isn’t hitting a wall in the government shutdown since they’re a nonprofit, not a government entity, despite using NASA resources. SETI uses the privately funded Allen Telescope Array in California, a radio telescope array, to listen for signals that could be intelligent life among the stars.
As President Trump stands firm on his demands for funding for a border wall, the shutdown impacts 800,000 federal workers, including most NASA employees.
