Huge solar flare no threat to Artemis 2 astronaut launch to the moon, NASA says

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, left, Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, right, stop for a group photograph as they visit NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, Monday, March 30, 2026, at Launch Complex 39B of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. .

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A massive solar eruption from the sun poses no threat to NASA's planned launch of its Artemis 2 mission to the moon this week, the space agency said today.

The colossal X1.4-class flare triggered a radio blackout over parts of Asia and Australia when it exploded from an active sunspot late Sunday (March 29) at 11:19 p.m. EDT (0319 March 30 GMT). The flare also launched a coronal mass ejection, or CME, of solar plasma in Earth's direction, but the space weather should settle down before NASA launches its Artemis 2 astronauts on April 1.