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NASA confirms the Sun’s new solar cycle; Moon and Mars missions will have to adapt
NASA just announced that our Sun began a new solar cycle this year – its 25th to be exact – after reaching a solar minimum in December 2019. Solar weather activity is now expected to increase for the next five years until reaching a maximum in July 2025. With several space missions planned during that time frame for both the Moon and Mars, the Artemis program, in particular, involving astronauts on board, extra preparation and consideration will have to be made to weigh the impact of the increasing radiation events.
“Space weather predictions are…critical for supporting Artemis program spacecraft and astronauts,” NASA’s announcement detailed. “Surveying this space environment is the first step to understanding and mitigating astronaut exposure to space radiation.”
Solar activity is tracked by agencies around the world by counting the number of sunspots (black spots) that appear on the Sun. Each one is an indicator of some type of high-energy activity such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections, and their appearance means a large amount of Sun material has been ejected into space. This material can cause disruptions on Earth, in orbit, or on anything in the deep space region nearby our star. Satellites in particular have to cope with solar interruptions frequently, although algorithms and engineering tend to mitigate much notice from a consumer standpoint.
While the Artemis mission will certainly have to take on the new challenge of a Sun that’s becoming more and more active as time goes on, solar cycles aren’t something new to NASA’s human spaceflight program.
“As we emerge from solar minimum and approach Cycle 25’s maximum, it is important to remember solar activity never stops; it changes form as the pendulum swings,” explained Lika Guhathakurta, solar scientist at the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in the solar cycle announcement. “There is no bad weather, just bad preparation… Space weather is what it is – our job is to prepare,” added Jake Bleacher, chief scientist for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at the agency’s Headquarters.
When astronauts are orbiting the Earth, our planet’s magnetic field protects them from being directly hit by the majority of solar ejections; however, once outside that protective bubble and on their way to another deep space or lunar destination, things can be very dangerous. Radiation issues are often discussed when it comes to human space exploration, but scientists don’t seem to be short of ideas on how to handle it.
☀️ Hearing a lot about our Sun today?
Scientists just announced it’s in a new cycle — meaning that we expect to see solar activity start to ramp up over the next several years.
Find out how these cycles are tracked and how they can affect life on Earth: https://t.co/zerIWT0IWJ pic.twitter.com/e4FD6HD1hF
— NASA (@NASA) September 15, 2020
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, for example, has proposed passengers en route to Mars using water as shielding. During a solar flare event, all on board would move to a part of the Starship where the liquid was being stored and essentially use it like a basement during bad weather. Given that SpaceX plans to deal with radiation in the longer term via Mars colonization, there may be plenty of other developments coming from the rocket launch (and landing) company in the near future.
Aside from the scientists watching and studying the Sun’s solar activity, the European Space Agency currently has a space probe in orbit around our star. The spacecraft has been sending back the closest pictures of the Sun we’ve ever seen, and a few new features have been observed such as ‘campfires.‘ The probe’s overall mission involves studying and understanding the Sun’s solar cycles and hopefully make space weather prediction akin to the kind of meteorology we have on Earth.
“Just because it’s a below-average solar cycle, doesn’t mean there is no risk of extreme space weather,” Doug Biesecker, panel co-chair and solar physicist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado, commented. “The Sun’s impact on our daily lives is real and is there. SWPC is staffed 24/7, 365 days a year because the Sun is always capable of giving us something to forecast.”
NASA held a live-streamed conference discussing the solar cycle announcement which you can watch below:
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Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state
Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.
Tesla Insurance has officially expanded to a new U.S. state, its thirteenth since its launch in 2019.
Tesla has confirmed that its in-house Insurance program has officially made its way to Florida, just two months after the company filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in the state. It had tried to offer its insurance program to drivers in the state back in 2022, but its launch did not happen.
Instead, Tesla refiled the paperwork back in mid-October, which essentially was the move toward initiating the offering this month.
BREAKING: Tesla Insurance has just officially launched in Florida.
This is the first new state to receive @Tesla Insurance in more than 3 years. In total, Tesla insurance is now available in 13 U.S. states (map in thread below of all the states).
Tesla Insurance in Florida uses… pic.twitter.com/bDwh1IV6gD
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 17, 2025
Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.
It has expanded to new states since 2019, but Florida presents a particularly interesting challenge for Tesla, as the company’s entry into the state is particularly noteworthy given its unique insurance landscape, characterized by high premiums due to frequent natural disasters, dense traffic, and a no-fault system.
Annual average premiums for Florida drivers hover around $4,000 per year, well above the national average. Tesla’s insurance program could disrupt this, especially for EV enthusiasts. The state’s growing EV adoption, fueled by incentives and infrastructure development, aligns perfectly with Tesla’s ecosystem.
Moreover, there are more ways to have cars repaired, and features like comprehensive coverage for battery damage and roadside assistance tailored to EVs address those common painpoints that owners have.
However, there are some challenges that still remain. Florida’s susceptibility to hurricanes raises questions about how Tesla will handle claims during disasters.
Looking ahead, Tesla’s expansion of its insurance program signals the company’s ambition to continue vertically integrating its services, including coverage of its vehicles. Reducing dependency on third-party insurers only makes things simpler for the company’s automotive division, as well as for its customers.
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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician
“Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving got its first sparkling review from South Korean politician Lee So-young, a member of the country’s National Assembly, earlier this week.
Lee is a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee in South Korea and is a proponent of sustainable technologies and their applications in both residential and commercial settings. For the first time, Lee was able to utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology as it launched in the country in late November.
Her thoughts on the suite were complimentary to the suite, stating that “it drives just as well as most people do,” and that “it already feels like a completed technology.”
드디어 오늘, 서울에서 테슬라 FSD 체험 했습니다.
JiDal Papa님의 모델S 협찬에 힘입어^^ 파파님 정말 감사합니다.
국회 -> 망원시장 -> 홍익대 -> 국회 복귀 코스였고요.
이미 무인 로보택시를 타봐서 그런지 신기함은
덜했지만, 웬만한 사람만큼 운전을 잘하네요.이미 완성된 기술이라고… pic.twitter.com/8pAidHBpRG
— 이소영 국회의원 (Soyoung Lee) (@im_soyounglee) December 17, 2025
Her translated post says:
“Finally, today I got to experience Tesla FSD in Seoul. Thanks to the Model S sponsored by JiDal Papa^^, I’m truly grateful to Papa. The route was from the National Assembly -> Mangwon Market -> Hongik University -> back to the National Assembly. Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about. Once it actually spreads into widespread use, I feel like our daily lives are going to change a lot. Even I, with my license gathering dust in a drawer, don’t see much reason to learn to drive a manual anymore.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving officially landed in South Korea in late November, with the initial launch being one of Tesla’s most recent, v14.1.4.
It marked the seventh country in which Tesla was able to enable the driver assistance suite, following the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.
It is important to see politicians and figures in power try new technologies, especially ones that are widely popular in other regions of the world and could potentially revolutionize how people travel globally.
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Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California
“This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”
Tesla has dispelled reports that it is facing a thirty-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a penalty to the company after a judge ruled it “misled consumers about its driver-assistance technology.”
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the California DMV was planning to adopt the penalty but decided to put it on ice for ninety days, giving Tesla an opportunity to “come into compliance.”
Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California
Tesla responded to the report on Tuesday evening, after it came out, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order that was brought up over its use of the term “Autopilot.”
The company said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem,” yet a judge and the DMV determined it was, so they want to apply the penalty if Tesla doesn’t oblige.
However, Tesla said that its sales operations in California “will continue uninterrupted.”
It confirmed this in an X post on Tuesday night:
This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) December 17, 2025
The report and the decision by the DMV and Judge involved sparked outrage from the Tesla community, who stated that it should do its best to get out of California.
One X post said California “didn’t deserve” what Tesla had done for it in terms of employment, engineering, and innovation.
Tesla has used Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but it did add the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite earlier this year, potentially aiming to protect itself from instances like this one.
This is the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” naming. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was vocally critical of the use of the name “Full Self-Driving,” as well as “Autopilot.”
Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician
