X1.4 Solar Flare Poses No Threat to Artemis II Launch, NASA Confirms
摘要： 太阳在 3 月 29 日晚爆发了一次 X1.4 级强烈耀斑，导致亚洲和澳大利亚部分地区无线电中断，但 NASA 确认此次太空天气事件不会影响 4 月 1 日 Artemis II 载人绕月任务的发射。
Massive Solar Eruption
A colossal X1.4-class solar flare exploded from an active sunspot at 11:19 p.m. EDT on March 29 (0319 GMT March 30), triggering a radio blackout over parts of Asia and Australia. The flare also launched a coronalal mass ejection (CME) — a massive cloud of solar plasma — directed toward Earth.
X-class flares are the most powerful category of solar storms, and this one ranked among the stronger events of the current solar cycle.
NASA: No Impact on Artemis II
Despite the dramatic eruption, NASA's Artemis II mission management team gave the official "go" decision to proceed with the April 1 launch attempt.
"The team concluded that everything continues to look good and there are no issues preventing us from pressing ahead at this point," said Amit Kshatriya, NASA associate administrator.
The CME is expected to arrive at Earth well before the 6:24 p.m. EDT launch window, giving space weather time to settle. NASA continuously monitors solar activity through its Space Weather Prediction Center partnerships.
Radiation Shelter Plans Already in Place
Even without this solar event, Artemis II already includes radiation preparedness as a key test objective. Emily Nelson, Artemis II chief flight director, explained the crew's contingency plan:
"One of our test objectives is to set up a radiation shelter, so we'll be doing that anyway, even without a radiation event. We've got a section of the spacecraft that we would set up in and the crew would stay in that area until we gave them the all clear."
The Orion spacecraft is designed with a designated safe zone where all four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — can shelter during a radiation event.
Solar Maximum Context
The flare occurred during the solar maximum of Solar Cycle 25, a period of peak solar activity that has produced numerous X-class flares in recent months. Space weather monitoring remains critical for all crewed missions, particularly deep-space flights like Artemis II that will travel beyond Earth's protective magnetosphere.