Mountain View's NASA Center, Menlo Park's USGS Campus Among Shutdown Casualties

If we're really not alone, extraterrestrials with access to a good telescope viewing recent developments on Planet Earth's most powerful nation these days might be scratching their heads.

But if they try to reach out to us today they'll probably go to straight to voicemail.

NASA, which has a Peninsula footprint, is among the federal agencies reduced to skeletal staffing levels during the government shutdown.

The agency's Ames Research Center in Mountain View and Menlo Park's USGS campus in Menlo Park have been affected by the shutdown, according to a Palo Alto Online report.

NASA has been hit particularly hard by the shutdown according to a New York Times report noting that just about everyone not involved in the International Space Station and mission control have been sent home.

The agency's official website is closed for business too, with a message on the site saying:

"Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available. We sincerely regret this inconvenience."

A Twitter message announcing that NASA will be suspending social media posting during the shutdown said: “Farewell, humans. Sort it out yourselves.”

The USGS isn't doing much better in post-shutdown America. The agency announced plans to shutter nearly all services during the shutdown.

Just 43 of the agency's more than 8,600 full-time staffers were spared from shutdown furloughs, the Palo Alto Online reports.

The agency's website is open but just barely, with all non-essential components shuttered.

“Due to the Federal government shutdown, usgs.gov and most associated web sites are unavailable,” a message on the USGS website says.

“Only web sites necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained.”