More than 15,000 NASA civil servants have been furloughed as the U.S. federal government enters a shutdown. With most science programs and public-facing activities frozen, the shutdown leaves NASA in a holding pattern until Congress approves new funding. NASA's updated shutdown plan, released Sept. 29 , outlines how the agency will operate during the funding lapse, and confirms the scale of furloughs now underway. Another addition in NASA's latest shutdown guidance includes a directive that restricts the use of carryover funds (leftovers from last year's appropriation) to "presidential priorities." NASA estimates it will take around half a day to secure facilities and complete the orderly shutdown of non-excepted operations.