Warm up this holiday season with NASA's new SLS rocket engine fireplace (video)

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It's eight hours of hypnotic fun, courtesy of the agency's SLS moon rocket.

illustration of a fireplace lit by the engines of a rocket
NASA created a virtual fireplace for the 2024 holiday season, a homey hearth lit by the engines of its Space Launch System moon rocket. (Image credit: NASA)

NASA is inviting you to sit by a homey, rocket-powered hearth this holiday season.

The space agency created a virtual fireplace lit by the engines of its huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which sent the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to the moon in November 2022.

"Just what you need for the holidays — the coziness of a crackling and roaring rocket engine!" NASA wrote in a description of the eight-hour-long fireplace video, which it posted on YouTube on Tuesday (Nov. 26).

NASA Rocket Engine Fireplace - 8 Hours in 4K - YouTube NASA Rocket Engine Fireplace - 8 Hours in 4K - YouTube
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"Technically, this fireplace packs the heat of FOUR RS-25 rocket engines and a pair of solid rocket boosters — just enough to get you to the moon! (And get through the holidays with your in-laws.)" the agency wrote.

NASA added a few other touches to the fireplace as well. For example, the hearth sports a framed photo of the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit, and another of the logo of the agency's Artemis program.

Related: Space Launch System: NASA's megarocket for Artemis moon missions

The SLS generates 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, making it the most powerful rocket ever to fly a successful mission. For comparison: NASA's iconic Saturn V moon rocket, which launched the Apollo missions more than half a century ago, produced about 7.5 million pounds of thrust.

But the SLS will lose its crown when SpaceX's Starship megarocket comes online. Starship, which the company is developing to help get people to the moon and Mars, generates about 16.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Starship has launched six times to date, but those have all been test flights.

RELATED STORIES:

— NASA's Artemis program: Everything you need to know

— The 10 greatest images from NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission

— Artemis 1 launch success makes NASA's SLS the most powerful rocket ever to fly

Artemis 1 remains the SLS' only launch. The giant NASA rocket is slated to fly again in September 2025, sending the crewed Artemis 2 mission around the moon, though it's unclear if the agency will be able to meet that timeline.

SLS and Starship will work together for the first time in late 2026, if all goes according to plan. SLS will launch the crewed Artemis 3 mission toward the moon; the astronauts will then meet up with a Starship in lunar orbit and take the SpaceX vehicle down to the lunar surface. It will be the first crewed moon landing for the U.S. since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dysan27
    This is a horribly disappointing video.

    The visuals suck. The main engines are even on, only the boosters. And the drifting gasses in the center don't even look like they are from the same shot as the boosters because there is no draft.

    As for the audio. I was expecting much more bass to the roar. But there is none. And there is no wood in the fire, cause it's filled with rocket engines, but wood crackling somewhere.

    It feels like something someone through together on a Friday afternoon, when they had plans that night.
    Reply
  • Natophilus
    Dysan27 said:
    This is a horribly disappointing video.

    The visuals suck. The main engines are even on, only the boosters. And the drifting gasses in the center don't even look like they are from the same shot as the boosters because there is no draft.

    As for the audio. I was expecting much more bass to the roar. But there is none. And there is no wood in the fire, cause it's filled with rocket engines, but wood crackling somewhere.

    It feels like something someone through together on a Friday afternoon, when they had plans that night.
    Hard to argue about disappointment. Still... my kid and I both had exact same reaction @ first sight: 'Ooooo...' So we're not going to kick the Yule Log to the curb... entirely... just yet... and will gladly work Artemis into the mix until then.

    Admin said:
    NASA has given us a holiday treat — a virtual fireplace lit by the engines of its Space Launch System moon rocket.

    Warm up this holiday season with NASA's new SLS rocket engine fireplace (video) : Read more
    My kid and I both had exact same reaction @ first sight: 'Ooooo...' So we're not going to kick the Yule Log to the curb... entirely... just yet... and will gladly work Artemis into the mix in the meantime.
    Reply
  • Llama
    Dysan27 said:
    This is a horribly disappointing video.

    The visuals suck. The main engines are even on, only the boosters. And the drifting gasses in the center don't even look like they are from the same shot as the boosters because there is no draft.

    As for the audio. I was expecting much more bass to the roar. But there is none. And there is no wood in the fire, cause it's filled with rocket engines, but wood crackling somewhere.

    It feels like something someone through together on a Friday afternoon, when they had plans that night.
    Disappointment comes from unmet expectation. How did you build up that much expectation in the 1 second it took to click on the video?
    Reply