Get Ready for the Green Run Hot Fire Test
We’re approaching an Artemis program milestone: the Hot Fire test of the Space Launch System rocket core stage. Set for Saturday, Jan. 16, this final test in the Green Run series at Stennis Space Center plans to fire all four engines for about eight-minutes. 
The hot fire is the eighth and final test of the Green Run series to ensure the core stage of the SLS rocket is ready to launch Artemis missions to the Moon, beginning with Artemis I. During the test, engineers will power up all the core stage systems, load propellant into the tanks, and fire all four engines at the same time to simulate the stage’s operation during launch, generating 1.6 million pounds of thrust.
This Year in Space
2020 Tied for Warmest Year on Record – By most accounts, 2020 was a rough year for the planet. Globally, it was the warmest year on record, just barely exceeding the record set in 2016. Overall, Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1880s. 
Sounds of Mars – When our Perseverance rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, it will not only collect stunning images and rock samples, it may also send back recorded sounds from Mars. Ever wonder how you would sound on Mars? A new interactive lets you sample the difference. 
Checking Out the Neighborhood – Citizen scientists from Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, a worldwide network of 150,0000 volunteers, helped astronomers make the most complete map of brown dwarfs — balls of gas not heavy enough to be stars — located near our solar system. 
We’re Hungry for Your Ideas – Longer, crewed missions to Mars will require sustainable food systems that keep our astronauts healthy and well fed. Our new NASA prize challenge seeks novel food technologies for space that could benefit Earth, too. 
Image Spotlight
“The only reason that I am here is because I have had women and men in my life who have sacrificed so that I could step on their shoulders to reach higher.” 

Meet Teresita Smith, a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist at our Goddard Space Flight Center.
Image Spotlight
It’s been 3,000 Martian days, or sols, since our Curiosity rover touched down on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, and the rover keeps making new discoveries. This panorama, made up of 122 individual images stitched together, was captured by the Mast Camera, or Mastcam, which serves as the rover’s main “eyes.” 
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS 
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