NASA Conducts Hot Fire of RS-25 Engine

NASA successfully conducted a hot fire of RS-25 engine No. 2063 on Jan. 22 at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, clearing the way for the engine to be installed for the agency’s Artemis IV mission.  

The RS-25 engines help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will carry astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.

Engine No. 2063 originally was installed on the SLS core stage for the Artemis II mission but was removed in 2025 after engineers discovered a hydraulic leak on the engine’s main oxidizer valve actuator, which controls propellant flow into the engine combustion chamber.

Following standard NASA procedures, teams removed the engine from the core stage and replaced the actuator.

Because NASA requires any significantly modified or repaired engine to undergo hot fire testing before flight, teams at NASA Stennis fired the engine for five minutes (300 seconds), at up to 109% of its rated power level in a test known as a confidence test that demonstrates the engine is ready for flight.

The test was conducted by a team of operators from NASA, L3Harris Technologies, and Sierra Lobo, Inc., the NASA Stennis test operations contractor. NASA Stennis provides critical data to L3Harris, the prime engines contractor for the SLS rocket.

With the successful test complete, engine No. 2063 is scheduled to be installed on the SLS core stage for Artemis IV. All RS-25 engines for NASA’s Artemis missions are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis before flight.

NASA is targeting as soon as February to send four astronauts around the Moon and back on Artemis II, the first crewed mission under the Artemis campaign. During launch, the SLS rocket will use four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, to help lift the Orion spacecraft and the crew away from Earth using more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

Under the Artemis campaign, NASA is returning humans to the Moon for economic benefits, scientific discovery, and to prepare for crewed missions to Mars.

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LaToya Dean

TESS Status Updates

Jan. 23, 2026

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Observations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered safe mode Jan. 15 and returned to normal science operations Jan. 18. 

The operations team determined the issue arose when TESS slewed to point at a target, but its solar panels did not rotate to remain pointed at the Sun relative to the spacecraft’s new direction. The off-Sun angle of the solar arrays resulted in a slow discharge of TESS’s batteries. As designed and planned for in situations of this kind, the satellite entered a safe mode after detecting the low-power condition.

At the time of the safe mode, TESS was conducting a week-long observation of comet 3I/ATLAS and resumed those observations Jan. 18. Data from TESS is publicly available through archives at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.

May 7, 2024

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) returned to science operations May 3 and is once again making observations. The satellite went into safe mode April 23 following a separate period of down time earlier that month.

The operations team determined this latest safe mode was triggered by a failure to properly unload momentum from the spacecraft’s reaction wheels, a routine activity needed to keep the satellite properly oriented when making observations. The propulsion system, which enables this momentum transfer, had not been successfully repressurized following a prior safe mode event April 8. The team has corrected this, allowing the mission to return to normal science operations. The cause of the April 8 safe mode event remains under investigation. 

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov/tess.

April 24, 2024

NASA’s Planet-Hunting Satellite Temporarily on Pause

During a routine activity April 23, NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered safe mode, temporarily suspending science operations. The satellite scans the sky searching for planets beyond our solar system.

The team is working to restore the satellite to science operations while investigating the underlying cause. NASA also continues investigating the cause of a separate safe mode event that took place earlier this month, including whether the two events are connected. The spacecraft itself remains stable.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS recently celebrated its sixth anniversary in orbit. Visit nasa.gov/tess for updates.

April 17, 2024

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has returned to work after science observations were suspended on April 8, when the spacecraft entered into safe mode. All instruments are powered on and, following the successful download of previously collected science data stored in the mission’s recorder, are now making new science observations.

Analysis of what triggered the satellite to enter safe mode is ongoing.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov/tess.

April 11, 2024

NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered into safe mode April 8, temporarily interrupting science observations. The team is investigating the root cause of the safe mode, which occurred during scheduled engineering activities. The satellite itself remains in good health.

The team will continue investigating the issue and is in the process of returning TESS to science observations in the coming days.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov/tess.

Media Contacts

Claire Andreoli
(301) 286-1940
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Alise Fisher
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
NASA Headquarters, Washington

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Winter Grips the Michigan Mitten

A winter chill descended on the Great Lakes region of North America in January 2026. Some of the effects were apparent in this satellite image as newly formed lake ice and a fresh layer of snow. The image, acquired by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows the region on the morning of January 20, 2026.

In the days prior, a winter storm blanketed many parts of western Michigan near the lake with nearly a foot of snow, according to the National Weather Service. West of Walker, snowfall totals surpassed that amount, reaching nearly 14 inches (36 centimeters). The storm’s effects extended beyond Michigan as well, including blizzard conditions in parts of Ontario east of Lake Huron.   

Lake effect snow is common in the Great Lakes area during late fall and winter, occurring when cold air moves over relatively warm, unfrozen water. As the air picks up heat and moisture, it rises to form narrow cloud bands that can produce heavy snowfall.

The air over Lake Erie was still moist enough for clouds to form, though the amount of open water on this lake has decreased sharply in recent days. Around mid-month, during a period of unseasonably warm air temperatures, ice coverage dropped to cover about 2 percent of the lake, according to the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. It then spiked to nearly 85 percent on January 21 after temperatures plummeted.  

The frigid temperatures were brought about by an Arctic cold front that moved across the region. In Cleveland, for instance, the weather service issued a cold weather advisory on January 19 for wind chills as low as minus 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. On that day, even colder wind chills were reported in the area around Chicago. Forecasts called for another round of cold Arctic air to spill over the Great Plains and Eastern U.S. over the coming weekend, accompanied by heavy snow.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

Downloads

January 20, 2026

JPEG (3.97 MB)

References & Resources

• CBC Lite (2026, January 20) Several rural roads closed as heavy snow, intense winds batter Huron, Perth. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Cleveland.com (2026, January 20) Lake Erie freezing rapidly: See how fast. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Cleveland.com (2026, January 19) Northeast Ohio school closings and delays for Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• National Weather Service What is Lake Effect Snow? Accessed January 22, 2026.
• National Weather Service (2026, January 22) Short Range Public Discussion. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (2026, January 21) Lake Erie Average Ice Cover. Accessed January 22, 2026.

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NASA’s Day of Remembrance 2026

The Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial is seen during a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.

Each January, NASA pauses to honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. We celebrate their lives, their bravery, and contributions to human spaceflight.

Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

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