NASA pauses Mars mission after solar storm hits launch site

Technology Nov 12, 2025

NASA hit pause on its ESCAPADE mission—two spacecraft set to explore how solar wind erodes Mars's atmosphere—after a powerful solar storm made it unsafe to launch.
The rocket was supposed to lift off from Cape Canaveral on November 9 and 12, but first bad weather, then the solar event, forced a delay.

Wait for calmer space weather before trying again

The culprit was a G4-class solar storm from sunspot AR4274, which sent charged particles toward Earth and created rare auroras as far south as Florida.
While these glowing skies looked amazing, the solar storm posed serious risks for the spacecraft.
NASA says they'll wait for calmer space weather before trying again.