Facebook users around the world experienced widespread disruption on Sunday after the social media platform suffered a major outage that left many unable to access their accounts or use key features.

According to outage-tracking service Downdetector, reports of problems surged sharply overnight, jumping from just a handful of reports initially to millions by noon on Sunday (Kabul time). 

Many users reported being unable to log into Facebook, while others who were already signed in encountered an error message stating: “Account Temporarily Unavailable. Your account is currently unavailable due to a site issue. We expect this to be resolved shortly. Please try again in a few minutes.”

The outage appeared to affect Facebook’s desktop platform most severely, although users also reported problems with the mobile app, including uploading photos and videos, viewing content and sending messages through Messenger.

Thousands of users turned to other social media platforms, including X, to confirm they were not alone, with “Facebook down” quickly becoming a trending topic in several regions.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, had not issued an official explanation for the disruption at the time of publication. It also remained unclear whether the outage affected users in all regions equally or whether other Meta-owned services, including Instagram and WhatsApp, experienced related issues.

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions through user-submitted reports, said the spike suggested a significant global outage. The number of reports on the platform does not necessarily represent the total number of affected users.

While outages of this scale are relatively uncommon, Facebook has experienced several high-profile service interruptions in recent years, affecting millions of users worldwide.

Meta is expected to provide further details once engineers identify the cause of the disruption. Users are advised to avoid repeatedly attempting to log in or changing account settings while the issue is being resolved, as the problem appears to stem from Facebook’s systems rather than individual accounts.

The Artemis II astronauts reunited with their Orion capsule on Wednesday, three months after completing a record-breaking mission around the moon that took them farther into space than any humans in history.

It was the crew’s first visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center since their launch in April. When they last saw the launch pad, the Space Launch System rocket that carried them to space was still standing there.

“It’s a lonely place without that rocket on it,” mission commander Reid Wiseman said, as the four astronauts thanked the teams that supported the historic flight.

The crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—set a new human distance record by traveling 252,756 miles (406,771 km) during the lunar flyby. The mission marked humanity’s first journey to the moon in more than 50 years.

Wiseman said public enthusiasm for the mission remains strong, recalling that a passenger on a recent flight in France thanked him for “reminding us about joy and hope in the universe again.”

NASA last month announced the four-member crew for Artemis III, scheduled for next year. The mission will remain in Earth orbit to rehearse docking with lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, while Artemis IV is planned as early as 2028 and is expected to include a crewed lunar landing.

Christina Koch, the first woman to fly to the moon, said she welcomed NASA’s merit-based crew selection after Artemis III’s all-male crew drew attention.

Jeremy Hansen, Canada’s representative on Artemis II, announced earlier this week that he will leave the Canadian Space Agency in September but will continue supporting the Artemis program as a reservist in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

NASA is seeking volunteers to take part in a year-long simulated mission designed to prepare astronauts for future expeditions to the Moon and Mars.

The agency announced it is recruiting participants for its next Moon and Mars Exploration Analog (MMEA) mission, which is expected to begin no earlier than August 2027 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Selected volunteers will spend approximately 12 months living and working in two specially designed habitats that recreate the isolation, confinement and operational challenges astronauts are expected to face during deep-space missions.

The simulation will provide researchers with valuable data on how crews adapt to long-duration spaceflight and planetary surface operations, helping NASA improve astronaut safety and readiness for future lunar and Martian missions.

During the mission, participants will carry out astronaut-like tasks in immersive environments, including mock Moon and Mars excursions, rover operations and scientific exploration activities, while operating under limited resources and communication constraints similar to those expected in deep space.

NASA said the research will also support planning for a sustained human presence on the Moon through its future Moon Base concept and upcoming Artemis missions, while contributing to preparations for the first crewed mission to Mars.

The new program combines elements of NASA’s Human Exploration Research Anbhhhhh//////////nalog (HERA) and Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) projects into a single integrated mission. Volunteers will use the HERA habitat to simulate the journey through space before transitioning to the CHAPEA habitat, which will serve as a simulated lunar or Martian base.

Throughout the mission, scientists will monitor the crew’s physical health, psychological wellbeing and performance under the demands of prolonged isolation, confined living conditions and limited supplies. Researchers will also evaluate technologies, operational procedures and habitat systems intended to support astronauts on future deep-space expeditions.

NASA is inviting qualified applicants who meet the agency’s physical, educational and psychological requirements. Candidates must complete a multi-stage selection process and undergo comprehensive medical and psychological evaluations before being chosen for the mission.

The agency said it is looking for individuals who are motivated by challenging experiences and eager to contribute to research that will shape the future of human space exploration.