Day 2 of the Government Shutdown

We have officially finished day 2 of the Government Shutdown of 2013. Several resources are not available to the public via the Internet. Entire sites have been shut down with the government. Here is a list of some of the sites that are down. Keep in mind that sites that are still up may not be getting updated regularly (or at all) during the shutdown.


U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Census Bureau
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Federal Trade Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Department of Energy
Library of Congress
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
U.S. Copyright Office
U.S. Geological Survey


As I mentioned before, this is NOT a comprehensive list of down government sites. As I discover more sites that are down, I will post updated lists. If you know of a site that is down (and not mentioned on here), please feel free to comment and let us know.


Finally, for more information on what the shutdown means, visit http://www.usa.gov/shutdown.shtml.


Thank you.


Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents and Microforms
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Liaison Librarian:

Accounting; Economics and Finance;
Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism; Legal Research;
Management; Marketing

July 20, 1976: The American Viking 1 successfully lands on Mars

Today is the 35th anniversary of the first lander landing on the surface of Mars. The Viking 1 Lander (and its sister ship the Viking 2) was the first probe from Earth to land on Mars intact.


For more information:

Viking: First Landing on Mars, NASA

Viking 30th Anniversary, NASA



Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Urban Studies, Engineering

June 21, 2006: Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra

Today is the fifth anniversary of the naming of Pluto's second and third moons, Nix and Hydra. Originally discovered in mid-2005, they were designated S/2005 P1 and S/200d P2.





For more information about Pluto and its moons, check out these resources:

Pluto and Its Moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra, NASA

Pluto, NOAA


Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Urban Studies, Engineering

February 12, 2001: NEAR Shoemaker Lands on 433 Eros

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the NEAR Shoemaker's landing on 433 Eros, making it the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.

For more information, check out these resources:

NEAR Shoemaker
Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Discovery: Missions : NEAR
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Missions: NEAR-Shoemaker
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NEAR Shoemaker
Astrogeology Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey

Exploring Comets, Asteroids, and Other Bodies in the Solar System
U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission


Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Urban Studies, Engineering

January 15, 2006: NASA's Stardust Mission Successfully Ends

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the ending of the Stardust Mission--the first to return dust from a comet. If you are interested in learning more, check out NASA's Stardust site, as well as the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory site Stardust: NASA's Comet Sample Return Mission.



Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Urban Studies, Engineering

"One Small Step for Man...

One giant leap for mankind." Those words symbolize one of the greatest moments of history for the world and for the United States. That phrase was first uttered by Mission Commander Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, as he descended from Apollo 11 onto the surface of the moon.

That's right, today is the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing. Here is the footage:








The Apollo 11 mission was launched on July 16, 1969, carrying Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon.

The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which he expressed during a speech given before a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."


View the video here: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/JFKSpeech/qthigh.html




For more information, visit NASA's pages:

The First Lunar Landing

Explore the Apollo 11 Landing Site

Apollo 40th Anniversary

Apollo 11 Video Index

The Decision to Go to the Moon


Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy