NASA: Government shutdown won't stop MAVEN launch to Mars

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission, slated for launch as early as Nov. 18, had been put on hold after this week's government shutdown, raising fears that the spacecraft would miss the launch window and be grounded for years. MAVEN, set for launch between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7, will play a crucial role as a communications relay between Earth and the rovers Curiosity and Opportunity, Jakosky said. The freeze left MAVEN's team of scientists and engineers in a lurch - many of them had already flown from all over the country to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to set up for the launch. Had MAVEN not escaped the funding freeze, the team could have pushed a launch to Dec. 15 at the latest, about a week after the end of its official launch window, Jakosky said.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/FUQslUBQrj8/la-sci-sn-mars-maven-nasa-launch-government-shutdown-released-20131003,0,2725524.story