Video: Watch NASA Test its Biggest Rocket, Ever

A test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System.

A test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System. NASA

The space agency's Space Launch System measures about half the length of a football field and puts out 3.6 million lbs of thrust.

If we're going to get astronauts to Mars, NASA will need a way to get them out of our atmosphere with gusto.

How about the most powerful rocket in the world? The space agency's Space Launch System, or SLS, fits that bill -- it measures about half the length of a football field and puts out 3.6 million lbs of thrust.

NASA is in the final stages of testing the SLS, ensuring everything about its performance is on track. In 2018, the agency plans to use the SLS to fire a spacecraft 40,000 miles past the moon.

To see the rocket in action, check out the video below from Wired