Update, March 24: NASA has elevated six facilities to Stage 4 of its four-stage Response Framework: Glenn Research Center and Plum Brook Station in Ohio, Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

As the spread of the novel coronavirus upends millions of lives across the country, NASA is working to understand and overcome challenges that the virus has posed for programs here on Earth and across the Solar System.

We are going to take care of our people. Thats our first priority, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Technology allows us to do a lot of what we need to do remotely, but, where hands-on work is required, it is difficult or impossible to comply with CDC guidelines while processing spaceflight hardware, and where we cant safely do that were going to have to suspend work and focus on the mission critical activities.

On Friday, March 20, NASA released the results of an agency-wide check-up that assessed how its workforce, facilities, and missions were faring in the wake of the coronavirus. In order to slow the spread of the virus across NASAs sprawling campuses, many centers have switched to mandatory telework. Work-related travel has been banned and the only staff on-site are there to protect life and critical infrastructure, the statement read.

As of Monday, March 23, almost all of NASA facilities are hovering at Stage 3 of the agencys four-stage Response Framework. NASAs Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi were elevated to Stage 4 last week. So far, two NASA employees, one at Ames and Marshall, respectively, have tested positive for COVID-19. Stennis and Michoud were shuttered due to concerns about the spread of the virus in the surrounding community.

A number of missions have been delayed or suspended due to mandatory telework at NASAs centers. The shutdown of Michoud and Stennis sadly spells delays for both NASAs SLS and Orion crew capsule. Testing and integration on both vehicles, integral components of NASAs beleaguered Artemis Mission, has been paused for the time being.

This situation will undoubtedly cause some inefficiencies, but we continue to be supportive of any research that can be done remotely, Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said in a note to NASAs research community on Monday. He noted that his team is working with each mission directly to better understand their challenges and needs.

In California, work on the James Webb Space Telescope, which aims to map out the most remote corners of the universe, has also been suspended. On March 9, NASA announced that two airborne missions out of NASA Ames were going to be postponed for later in the summer. While Lockheed Martin will continue work on the long-awaited X-59 plane, NASA employees will conduct inspections remotely.

Despite telework orders and the shuttering of campuses, some missions are still on schedule.

NASA says one of its top priorities is ensuring the safety and health of its astronauts aboard the International Space Station, so flight controllers at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston are still on the job at Mission Control. NASA said in its statement that it still plans to send astronaut Chris Cassidy to the ISS on April 9, and that he and two cosmonauts are already undergoing a routine two-week pre-flight quarantine.

The Mars 2020 Mission timeline is also still a go. NASA noted in the statement that the Perseverance rover and its accompanying Mars Helicopter are currently under preparation at Kennedy Space Center and are still scheduled for launch in July. The highly anticipated Demo-2 launch, which will shuffle astronauts to the ISS aboard a SpaceX rocket and capsule, is still on track for its mid-to-late May launch. Resupply missions to the ISS are also still on track, the agency said.

Essential staff are monitoring all of the agencys spacecraft, from Juno to the Hubble Space Telescope to NOAAs weather satellites, and the NASA IT Security Operations Center as well as a number of supercomputers at Ames are still up and running, despite center closures.

Everything is subject to change, however, and the agency noted that it is monitoring especially fluid working situations such as those at NASAs Jet Propulsion in California, where mandatory shelter-in-place laws have been enacted.

Our first priority is the safety of everyone who works on NASA missions and funded research and SMD leadership is committed to doing all it can to support our community, Zurbuchen wrote. I want to thank all of you for your patience and hard work as we transition to this new normal.

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Everything NASA Is Shutting Down in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic - Popular Mechanics