This year’s Operation IceBridge flights will likely be delayed by three weeks or more — and might be canceled altogether.

For the past 15 years, NASA has used airborne lasers to measure sea ice, glaciers, and ice sheets in both the Arctic and Antarctica. In addition to measuring annual changes in the thickness and extent of polar ice, the project assesses the effects of climate change and subsequent sea-level rise.

But this year, the partial government shutdown will delay or even cancel some of that work. And if the mission does launch, it may be too late to measure Arctic sea ice at its maximum extent and thickness.

Operation IceBridge, which involves aircraft flying over the Arctic and Antarctica to take precise measurements with a laser, is already set to be delayed because of the shutdown. Read more at ArcticToday.