Things Are About To Get Bad Folks. But Then It Will Get Better.

To all our readers in the space community: when dealing with #COVID19 be the Matt Damon on the left - not the one on the right. #BeMarkWatney #Coronavirus #NASA pic.twitter.com/eyw7q1GLCT

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) March 24, 2020

Keith's note: I am starting to see Facebook and social media posts by people I know - who know people who are sick with COVID-19 - or have died. This will start to accelerate sharply albeit exponentially in the next week or so. Remember back in the 80s and 90s when your gay friends would comment once in a while about the increasing number of friends they lost to AIDS and the air of despair and hopelessness that accompanied that loss - and the aching hope for a cure? Think of that decade or so of prolonged loss compressed into mere months. That is what COVID-19 can and will do unless everyone does their part to limit the spread. Add in what we all went through during/after 9-11, Columbia, and Katrina for good measure. We've all seen those movies before. And we all made it through each of them.

If you have worked at NASA for more than 5 minutes then you have heard the old "there is no 'I' in team" management theme. Well, guess what: that is now obsolete. The "I" is now of paramount importance. Every single person can - and must - make a contribution by staying home, being cautious, listening to medical professionals, and adapting to the new normal of doing rocket science from home. Acting as an individual is now of core importance to the team.

As Jim Bridenstine noted "Each of us has the important responsibility of taking extra precautions to protect ourselves and our team. If you are performing on-site work and feel sick, do not go to work. Contact your supervisor immediately and schedule an appointment with your primary care provider."

I take Jim 200% at his word. If your center is not at Stage 4 yet and you think that it should be, then tell your management. If you do not feel comfortable doing so or think that they are not listening then please borrow the NASAWatch comments section - or send an email - and I will make sure the message is delivered - with anonymity.

In the mean time, now that working at NASA - is working from home - in isolation - there is one example to emulate: Think like Mark Watney. He teleworked from Mars for years. He eventually showed up at his NASA office on Earth after all the bad stuff was over.

So can you.

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