How the Artemis II Launch Could Have Thrown Off GPS Signals

A new study details that a historic NASA mission likely created a temporary hole in the Earth's atmosphere. This hole could have impacted GPS systems around the world. Read on for what the study revealed.

Artemis II Mission May Have Briefly Disrupted GPS Services

The NASA Artemis II moon launch grabbed headlines for its 9-day flyby of the lunar surface. However, the mission might have also led to a hole in the upper levels of the Earth's atmosphere.  A recent preprint study published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters detailed that it is not unusual for space launches to "induce ionosphere disturbances.”

Researchers from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan explained how these “ionosphere holes” occur as the molecules in the rocket exhaust interact with the ionosphere. This interaction triggers a temporary electron depletion.

The scientists found that during the Artemis II mission, the Artemis rocket created several disturbances in the ionosphere. These disruptions happened at lift-off, two hours later during an engine burn, and during another burn roughly 24 hours after the launch. The most significant of these disturbances stretched over 50 degrees of longitude across the upper levels of the atmosphere over North America.

Charles Lin, an earth science professor at National Cheng Kung University and one of the study’s co-authors, noted that the disruptions were so big that scientists think it could have created a brief disruption in GPS accuracy. However, the researchers did not find any concrete evidence that these disruptions were responsible for any vehicular crashes or other issues with drones and self-driving drones.
 
Lin told Newsweek that these temporary disruptions to GPS signals could become more notable if the NASA missions happen more regularly. In addition, Lin told Space.com that any potential missions to Mars could result in “these space weather effects”  becoming “much more significant."