Tragedy struck over the weekend in Arizona, when a lone gunman made an apparent assassination attempt against congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (Democrat). Remarkably, Giffords appears to have survived a single gunshot wound to the head, although six others, including a staff member and a federal judge, were killed in the incident.

Giffords was an active member of the House Committee on Science and Technology. She served as the chair of the subcommittee on space and aeronautics until the Republicans took control this year and held multiple hearings on the future of NASA. She was also a strong advocate for renewable energy, putting forward several pieces of legislation to encourage the solar industry. Finally, she was a strong supporter of Obama’s healthcare legislation.

Giffords’ involvement in NASA is also personal. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is scheduled to be commander of the shuttle Endeavour on its final flight in April, which is scheduled to deliver a costly scientific instrument known as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly’s brother, Scott, is already commander aboard the ISS. “I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers,” Scott Kelly tweeted from the station yesterday.

NASA has declined to say whether Mark Kelly’s role in the upcoming shuttle mission will change, though it would be difficult to keep up with the gruelling training schedule given the tragedy. Its also probably too early to say what this means for the Committee on Science and Technology: the House has suspended normal business this week as a result of the shooting.

Credit: Wikipedia