The world’s best-known space organisation has gone silent. NASA was forced to cease key aspects of its activities on October 1, 2025, due to the US Congress’s failure to pass a budget.

Thousands of personnel were furloughed, laboratories were closed, and several missions were halted. While crucial teams continue to operate the International Space Station (ISS) and keep critical satellites operational, much of NASA has effectively entered “pause mode".

For Americans, this is a budget impasse. For the world, and particularly for India, it raises wider questions: How vulnerable are global science and space exploration when they are so reliant on one agency’s funding cycles?

NASA is a federal agency in the United States, although its reach extends globally. Its Earth-observing satellites contribute to weather and climate models used by meteorologists throughout Asia and Africa. Its planetary missions provide data to institutions and researchers on multiple continents. NASA coordinates and provides resources for the International Space Station (ISS), which is run in collaboration with Europe, Japan, Russia, and Canada. In short, NASA is more than just America’s space programme; it is a component of the world’s scientific infrastructure. When it stalls, the consequences extend well beyond Washington.

According to internal estimates, more than 15,000 NASA personnel have been furloughed. Only a small “excepted" team continues to run the ISS, monitor satellites, and ensure astronaut safety. Everything else, from grant approvals to mission planning, is stalled.

NASA satellites monitor carbon emissions, polar ice, and sea-level rise. Interruptions pose an impact on global climate models, particularly India’s important monsoon projections. High-profile initiatives such as Artemis (the US mission to return to the Moon) and the Mars Sample Return are experiencing additional delays and rising expenses.

Further, researchers all throughout the world, including India, rely on NASA’s open data portals. Nevertheless, a payment delay can take place with overseas enterprises supplying NASA with hardware and technology, causing financial hardship in the aerospace industry.

For India, the NASA suspension has direct consequences. The Indian Meteorological Department incorporates NASA satellite data into its models. Even a temporary lapse can affect the accuracy of projections used to guide farmers and policymakers.

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, a collaborative project to study Earth’s ecosystems, ice, and tectonics, may suffer schedule issues if NASA cannot keep up. In 2008, Chandrayaan-1 profited from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper, demonstrating how interconnected these collaborations are. Many Indian PhD researchers and scientists who work with NASA data will experience delays in their projects. In a country with limited finances, delays in foreign access are especially damaging.

As India establishes itself as an emerging space power, it must confront the truth that its closest ally can be unpredictable. This will force New Delhi to hedge its bets with Europe, Japan, and private American enterprises like SpaceX.

The shutdown provides three distinct lessons for India’s space strategy. ISRO has long avoided political disturbances. As India takes on larger programmes like Gaganyaan (human spaceflight), it must ensure stable multi-year funding to avoid stop-start cycles to maintain continuity. Secondly, India should avoid........

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