A massive solar flare could seriously disrupt life on Earth – but new NASA missions and others in development will help monitor the Sun. The Sun's surface is surprisingly active, with events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) traveling through space and sometimes interacting with Earth's magnetic field, causing space weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is tracking several CMEs that could lead to a minor geomagnetic storm in Earth's atmosphere, with people in Canada and the northern United States potentially able to see an aurora the evening of Sept. 9, 2026. Solar activity follows a roughly 11-year cycle, and these events are made up of plasma: electrically charged gas. When they interact with Earth's magnetic field, they cause geomagnetic storms, which produce the northern lights. The Sun also produces the solar wind, a stream of charged particles and magnetic field lines ejected from the Sun, which scientists are interested in studying for their influence on geomagnetic storms. Space weather can be very destructive, increasing drag on satellites and causing them to fall, and disrupting radio waves used by satellites. GPS is one type of technology that uses radio waves, and many industries rely on accurate GPS positioning. Space weather events in 2025 disrupted some satellite communications and triggered overheating alarms for power grids. A strong enough space weather event could disrupt cell networks and electrical power grids, which underlie communications, transportation, utilities, and even sewer systems. Over a century ago, in 1859, a large solar flare outshone the Sun, shorting out telegraph lines and lighting up the sky with auroras. Since then, technology has advanced, but the potential for disruption remains. To protect these networks, scientists must monitor the Sun in real time, allowing operators to reduce or reroute electricity flowing through grids when a CME approaches. Space agencies across the globe have a suite of missions that monitor the Sun and the flares and ejections it produces. In 2025, NASA launched several missions, including the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, which studies how the Sun's outer surface layer creates the solar wind. Additionally, NASA launched the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, both of which traveled to the L1 Lagrange point, a spot between Earth and the Sun where the gravitational pulls balance out. These spacecraft will study the solar wind and observe what happens to the outer layer of Earth's atmosphere during space weather events. In 2027, NASA plans to launch the Sun Coronal Ejection Tracker, which will monitor how CMEs change as they are ejected from the Sun. These missions will help scientists monitor and respond to space weather events, which will become increasingly important as space exploration advances. Before the end of the decade, NASA hopes to send humans back to the Moon, which is especially vulnerable to space weather events due to the absence of a magnetic field. Particles from the Sun can pose health risks to astronauts, with radiation dosages potentially exceeding recommended limits. Researchers are developing a research center to predict space weather events, which could protect astronauts and infrastructure on Earth.