NASA Minute: Jan. 23, 2026

This week, momentum continues to build as NASA prepares for Artemis II, while teams across the agency push forward on science, aeronautics, and technology that support future exploration.

What is said in the film

Momentum continues to build as NASA prepares for Artemis II, while teams across the agency push forward on science, aeronautics, and technology that support future exploration. Here’s a look at what’s happened this week, in your NASA Minute. On Thursday, NASA observed our annual Day of Remembrance, honoring the astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of exploration. Administrator Jared Isaacman joined agency leadership at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, and laid wreaths at memorials honoring the crews of Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. We remember these members of the NASA family not only for how they served, but for what they made possible.

Their legacy lives on in how NASA approaches exploration: learning from the past, managing risk with care, and continuing onward with purpose. On Saturday, the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft rolled to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the upcoming mission around the Moon. The approximately 4-mile journey took nearly 12 hours, as engineers moved the rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building out to the launchpad. Since then, the team has been configuring the rocket and spacecraft for an upcoming wet dress rehearsal, enabling communication lines, configuring hardware, and setting up the emergency egress system. Once SLS and Orion have completed their rigorous testing, NASA will announce our target launch date, so stay tuned for more updates as we build toward America’s historic return to the Moon!

On Monday, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured dramatic images of the Sun unleashing a powerful X1. 9-class solar flare. The eruption sent a coronal mass ejection racing toward Earth, lighting up skies with auroras visible as far south as Arizona. The burst of solar energetic particles tied to this event was the strongest observed since 2003. By monitoring activity like this in real time, NASA’s heliophysics missions help scientists track and mitigate the effects of space weather — protecting astronauts and satellites in orbit, and critical power and communication systems here on Earth.

Two former U. S. Air Force F-15 fighter jets have joined NASA’s fleet at Armstrong Flight Research Center, beginning a new chapter as airborne test platforms for advanced aerospace research. Capable of flying at more than twice the speed of sound and reaching extreme altitudes, the aircraft will support cutting-edge flight experiments — including testing tied to NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59. NASA is inviting innovators to think differently about how astronauts will eat on Mars, launching the new Mars to Table Deep Space Food Challenge.

Open now through July 31, the competition challenges teams to design an end-to-end food production system that can operate independently on the Martian surface — from growing to preparing meals far from Earth. By tapping into public ingenuity, challenges like this help advance critical technologies for deep space exploration while strengthening the broader space economy. And finally, NASA astronaut Chris Williams -- part of Expedition 74 on the International Space Station -- joined in the excitement about Artemis II, sharing these images that he took of the rocket and its shadow as the space station flew over the Kennedy Space Center from nearly 250 miles above. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time on the NASA Minute.

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