NASA Minute: Dec. 23, 2025

As we say goodbye to 2025, we’re already looking ahead here at NASA, with progress on lunar missions, new crews preparing for orbit, and fresh views of Earth from space.

What is said in the film

As we say goodbye to 2025, we’re already looking ahead here at NASA, with progress on lunar missions, new crews preparing for orbit, and fresh views of Earth from space... Here's what's happening in this week's NASA minute. Progress towards next year’s mission around the Moon is continuing, as teams at the Kennedy Space Center conducted the first part of a countdown demonstration test for Artemis II. The launch team and the mission’s four astronauts practiced launch day activities, including the crew suiting up and loading into the Orion Spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. The second part of the countdown test will take place in the coming weeks, after SLS and Orion roll out to the launch pad.

We’re excited to announce the four crew members who will fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station. Launching no earlier than February 15th, 2026, the international crew representing three space agencies will begin a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will serve as mission commander and pilot, joined by mission specialists from ESA and Roscosmos. Once on orbit, Crew-12 will join Expedition 74 to carry out scientific research and technology demonstrations that help prepare humans for future missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA’s new ocean-observing satellite, Sentinel-6B, has begun returning its first observations of sea levels from space.

Launched last month, the satellite is on its way to providing ultra-precise measurements of ocean height across vast stretches of the Atlantic, tracking the rise and fall of the seas with astonishing detail. Once fully calibrated next year, Sentinel-6B will deliver data that help ship crews navigate safer routes, improve weather and marine forecasts, support national security, and give coastal communities better tools to prepare for flooding and storm impacts. From the seas to the skies to the great unknown, NASA is improving global safety. NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has returned its first images from space, capturing rare ultraviolet views of Earth and the Moon that confirm the spacecraft is healthy and ready for its primary mission. These “first light” images show both broad ultraviolet light and the faint glow of Earth’s geocorona, the outermost layer of our atmosphere that extends far into space.

By studying this ultraviolet halo, scientists will gain new insight into how Earth’s atmosphere interacts with the Sun’s energy and space weather, information that helps protect satellites, communications systems, and future crews traveling beyond low Earth orbit. From low-Earth orbit, to the Moon, and beyond, NASA’s work has set the stage for a historic year ahead. Thanks for watching the NASA Minute. Happy New Year!

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