When Artemis II lifted off in April 2026, it returned human beings to lunar space for the first time since 1972, and the consequences have kept unfolding long after the rocket cleared the pad. Researchers now report that the mission left three vast ripples in the ionosphere, the electrically charged upper reach of the atmosphere, each spanning more than 5,000 kilometers over North America. The disturbances trace back to the launch itself and to upper-stage engine firings, revealing how human ambition can stir the invisible layers that carry our navigation signals. Whether those ripples ever re
Artemis II Launch Triggered Three 5,000km Ionosphere Disturbances Over North America, GPS Impact Unmeasured
Three tears in the ionosphere, each over 5,000 kilometers across
Mark
So what did the researchers actually find?
Mimi
Three separate disturbances in the ionosphere, all over North America, each more than 5,000 kilometers across. One came from the launch and the others from upper-stage engine firings.
Mark
Why does the ionosphere matter to ordinary people?
Mimi
It's full of free electrons and ions, and that affects radio waves. GPS signals pass through it on the way to your phone or your car.
Luke
Before we go further: did they measure any GPS problems?
Mimi
No. The study didn't directly measure any GNSS or GPS disruption. They want to do that next.
Luke
Then the self-driving car line is a what-if.
Mimi
Yes. Charles Lin said a couple of meters of error is enough to make an autonomous car change lanes. That describes a potential effect, not something that happened.
Mark
And the claim that this is bigger than past launches?
Luke
That comes from the reporting of the study, including the comparison to SpaceX launches. I'd want to see the paper's method before leaning on it, since we only have a summary here.
Mimi
Fair. What's clear is that the same region was hit three times, which the authors call a first.
Mark
What comes next?
Mimi
Measuring how big any navigation errors were and how long they lasted, which should shape future launch planning.
El Pulso
- Three enormous ionospheric disturbances, each over 5,000 km wide, rolled across North America after the Artemis II launch and its upper-stage burns.
- The rocket produced a heavier and more recurring atmospheric disruption than any earlier launch, SpaceX included, over the same region on three separate occasions.
- No actual GPS or GNSS disruption was measured, so the threat to self-driving cars and drones stays a possibility rather than a confirmed outcome.
- A positioning error of only a couple of meters could be enough to make an autonomous car swerve into another lane, which keeps the stakes firmly on the table.
- Researchers are now working to measure how large any navigation errors were and how long they lasted, with results expected to shape future launch planning.
When Artemis II lifted off in April 2026, it returned human beings to lunar space for the first time since 1972, and the consequences have kept unfolding long after the rocket cleared the pad. Researchers now report that the mission left three vast ripples in the ionosphere, the electrically charged upper reach of the atmosphere, each spanning more than 5,000 kilometers over North America. The disturbances trace back to the launch itself and to upper-stage engine firings, revealing how human ambition can stir the invisible layers that carry our navigation signals. Whether those ripples ever reached the satellite signals people rely on remains an open question, one the scientists have yet to answer.
Artemis II lifted off in April 2026, carrying humans back into lunar space for the first time since 1972. Months later, scientists are still sorting through what the mission left behind, and a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters turns attention upward, to the sky above North America.
The researchers report that the mission set off three separate disturbances in the ionosphere, the upper layer of the atmosphere. Each one sat over North America and stretched more than 5,000 kilometers. The first came from the launch itself, and the other two followed when the upper-stage engines fired high overhead. The ionosphere is crowded with free electrons and ions, and that charged mix strongly shapes the radio signals that GPS and other satellite navigation systems send to receivers on the ground.
According to the team, this was a stronger disturbance than any previous rocket has caused, SpaceX launches included. What set Artemis II apart was not just its size but its repetition: three disturbances over the same region, a pattern the researchers describe as extremely rare. Their work offers a fresh look at human-made space weather, the kind that can ripple down into infrastructure we depend on.
The study stops short of claiming harm. It did not measure any actual GNSS or GPS disruption. Still, lead author Charles Lin of National Cheng Kung University warned that a positioning error of only a couple of meters could be enough to push a self-driving car into another lane, and that drones could be affected as well.
The next chapter is the harder one. Scientists want to find out how large any navigation errors were and how long they lasted, and the answers will likely guide how future launches are planned.
Artemis II lifted off in April 2026 and put humans back in lunar space for the first time since 1972. Months later, scientists are still working through the data it generated, and one new set of findings concerns what the rocket did to the sky above North America.
Research set to be published in Geophysical Research Letters reports that the mission triggered three separate disturbances in the ionosphere, the upper layer of the atmosphere. Each one sat directly above North America, and each measured more than 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles) across. The first pulse wave came from the launch itself. The others came when the upper-stage engines fired in the upper atmosphere.
The ionosphere matters because of what fills it. Solar radiation bombards the layer, leaving it dense with free electrons and positively charged ions. That mix strongly affects radio waves, including the signals that Global Navigation Satellite System satellites, GPS among them, send down to receivers on the ground.
According to the report, this was a heavier run of atmospheric disruption than any previous rocket launch has produced, SpaceX launches included. The researchers say that gives scientists useful context on human-made space weather, meaning disturbances that could interfere with infrastructure on the ground. In their words, launches often induce ionosphere disturbances, but Artemis II was the first to produce extremely rare, recurring perturbations over the same geographic region on three separate occasions.
The study did not measure any actual disruption to GNSS or GPS. That is the key limit on what it can say. The team hopes to take that up in follow-up work, so any effect on navigation remains a possibility rather than a documented outcome.
Still, the researchers say disturbances of this kind can cause significant, if temporary, shifts in navigation systems. Study author Charles Lin, an earth scientist at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, told Space.com that a positioning error of a couple of meters is enough to make an autonomous car change lanes. He added that the consequences could reach beyond self-driving cars to drone positioning.
The next step is to work out how large any navigation errors were and how long they lasted. The researchers say it will be essential to assess the effects of future rocket launches on the ionosphere, and the results of this follow-up are likely to inform how later launches and maneuvers are planned.
Citas Notables
A positioning error of a couple of meters is enough to cause an autonomous car to change lanes.— Charles Lin, National Cheng Kung University, to Space.com
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