NASA’s Artemis II mission may have left a 3,100‑mile scar in Earth’s ionosphere, briefly throwing GPS readings off by metres.
Key points
- Artemis II’s SLS launch created large, short‑lived ionospheric holes that altered GPS signal speed, leading to metre‑scale positioning errors.
- The disturbances were measured using ground‑based GPS networks and were significantly stronger than those from previous heavy‑lift launches.
- While the effect lasted only minutes, it highlights a potential risk for autonomous vehicles and drones during future high‑energy launches.
A pre‑print study by researchers at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan says the April 2026 launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission generated unprecedented disturbances in the ionosphere, the charged layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere, that were strong enough to cause temporary GPS positioning errors of several metres.
The team reconstructed the ionospheric response by analysing data from high‑precision, ground‑based GPS receiver networks that normally track tectonic plate motions. By measuring the travel time of GPS signals, they inferred sharp changes in free‑electron density as the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket ascended.
Launch‑induced ionospheric holes
According to co‑author Charles Lin, an earth‑science professor, the launch produced two distinct “holes” in the ionosphere—one from the 212‑foot core stage and another from two upper‑stage burns at about 115 miles altitude. Each hole stretched roughly 3,100 miles east‑to‑west across the United States, creating electron‑density anomalies that translated into positioning errors of a few metres.
Lin warned that such errors could affect autonomous systems: “A positioning error of a couple of meters is enough to cause an autonomous car to change lanes. It could have a strong impact not only on self‑driving cars but also on drone positioning.” The researchers note that the disturbances were up to ten times stronger than those recorded after SpaceX’s Starship test flights, despite Starship’s higher thrust.
Potential impact on navigation
The ionospheric perturbations faded within minutes, unlike solar‑storm‑induced disruptions that can last days. Nevertheless, the authors caution that as lunar and Martian missions become more frequent, similar space‑weather effects could become a growing operational concern for navigation‑reliant technologies.
Reader questions
How did the Artemis II launch affect GPS signals?
The launch’s shock wave punched holes in the ionosphere, changing the concentration of free electrons. This altered the speed of GPS signals passing through the layer, producing temporary positioning errors of several metres.
What caused the ionospheric holes?
The study attributes the holes to the supersonic flight of the SLS core stage and two upper‑stage burns that occurred inside the ionosphere, each creating a large‑scale disturbance that stretched across the continent.
Will future missions face similar GPS disruptions?
The authors suggest that as more missions travel to the Moon and Mars, comparable ionospheric effects could become more common, potentially impacting navigation‑dependent systems during launch windows.
Source: space.com
