--- title: "NASA’s Moon Mission Ripped a Hole in Earth’s Upper Atmosphere So Massive That It Disrupted GPS Signals" description: "NASA's Moon rocket managed to tear a massive hole in the Earth's upper atmosphere, a disruption powerful enough to throw off GPS signals." date: "2026-11-08" modified: "2026-11-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor.md" url: "https://futurism.com/space/nasa-moon-mission-hole-upper-atmosphere" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "NASA" - "Off-World" - "Space" --- # NASA’s Moon Mission Ripped a Hole in Earth’s Upper Atmosphere So Massive That It Disrupted GPS Signals ![A photo of NASA's Artemis II launch.]() *NASA* Apart from [certain issues]() [with their space toilet](), the crew of four NASA astronauts' journey around the Moon and back earlier this year was a resounding success. The mission officially broke the record for the farthest any human has ever traveled from Earth, gave crew members astonishing views of the far side of the Moon — and, of course, set the stage for NASA's first attempt to land astronauts on the lunar surface in over half a century. Now, according to a [new study]() published in the journal *Geophysical Research Letters*, it turns out that the April rocket launch also managed to tear a massive hole in the Earth's upper atmosphere, as [*Space.com* reports]() — a major disruption in the ionosphere that was powerful enough to throw off GPS signals. By analyzing data from ground-based GPS receivers, a team of researchers from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan reconstructed how NASA's Space Launch System rocket changed the concentrations of free electrons in the Earth's atmosphere. "The total electron content observations during the Artemis-II Lunar mission revealed rare reoccurring ionospheric perturbations at three different occasions," the team noted in its paper. The launch "triggered shock waves and unprecedented large-scale disturbances" across North America. Coauthor and National Cheng Kung University earth science professor Charles Lin told *Space.com* that the resulting positioning errors could have had serious repercussions back on the ground. "A positioning error of a couple of meters is enough to cause an autonomous car to change lanes," he said. "It could have a strong impact not only on self-driving cars but also on drone positioning." Other disturbances, such as powerful solar storms, can similarly wreak havoc on GPS and other positioning systems. For instance, in November of last year, a major surge in solar activity released enough charged particles to cause "significant positioning errors" of over 33 feet, "large enough to disrupt precision agriculture and autonomous transportation industries" in the US, a [paper]() at the time concluded. NASA's SLS, one of the most powerful rockets ever built, conducted three maneuvers — an initial launch, an apogee boost burn, and a trans-lunar injection — that were localized "over the same region," causing major "ionospheric perturbations," the authors of the latest paper found, mimicking the effects of a major solar storm, albeit on a much shorter time frame. "These findings establish orbital maneuver burns performed within the ionosphere as a distinct and repeatable source of anthropogenic space weather, beyond the well-established launch-stage disturbances," the researchers wrote. Ahead of future launches, they suggest studying the effects of these perturbances on the health of the ionosphere as a whole, as well as their effects on global navigation systems and high-frequency communications. **More on the Moon:** *[US Space Force Declares Far Side of the Moon a “Warfighting Domain,” Weighs Launch of Five Military Lunar Satellites]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [NASA Officially Activates Its “GPS for Deep Space”]() - [China’s Getting Ready to Land Astronauts on the Moon While NASA Flails Helplessly]() - [NASA Is Making an AI-Based GPS for Space]() - [NASA Investigates Holes On Earth’s Evil Twin, Venus]() - [White House Announces Plans to Rip Up NASA’s Moon Program]() - [NASA Discovers Strange Spectral Formations High Over the Earth]() - [NASA is Launching a GPS System for Space]() - [Former NASA Director Trashes Upcoming Moon Mission]()