NASA capped a six-year process this past month at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, setting the stage for testing the core stage of its new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, designed to carry humans deeper into space than ever, including to the Moon and eventually Mars. 🚀 With completion of all major tasks and a successful high-pressure gas facility stress test, Stennis reached an all-but-complete state of readiness for SLS core stage testing on its B-2 Test Stand, pictured here. After the core stage for the first mission arrives to Stennis, it will be installed on the B-2 Test Stand and tested with its four RS-25 engines firing simultaneously, as during an actual launch. This hot fire before launch is called a “green run” test. Learn more SLS testing at nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls Credit: NASA/SSC #NASA #moontomars #EM1 #SLS #rocket #engines #deepspace #exploration