No, NASA doesn’t have a cloud generation machine — it has rocket engines

[Archiee]

While scrolling through my Facebook feed this morning, I stumbled upon a video shared by an old high school classmate showing a giant NASA machine that can supposedly produce artificial clouds. The video features former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson talking in front of a large metallic chamber that’s spewing out fluffy white plumes. The video, titled “Artificial Clouds Generation System,” does make it seem like the machine is churning out clouds — but the rocket engines generating the plumes go unmentioned.

My former classmate isn’t the only one watching this video, either. It’s been shared more than 350,000 times already and garnered more than 71,000 likes. Plus, it’s not the only video that uses Jeremy Clarkson to claim that NASA is pumping out clouds. A quick Google search of “Top Gear NASA engine test” brings up a whole host of videos that claim NASA has cracked how to modify the weather. But NASA hasn’t.

THE VIDEO IS ACTUALLY AN EDITED CLIP OF TWO DIFFERENT ROCKET ENGINE TESTS AT NASA’S STENNIS SPACE CENTER IN MISSISSIPPI
The video is actually an edited clip of two different rocket engine tests at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The first couple of seconds show the test-firing of an RS-25, an engine that was used on the Space Shuttle and will be used to power NASA’s next big rocket, the Space Launch System. The latter part of the clip is from a 2001 BBC television series called “Speed,” hosted by Clarkson. In the footage, Clarkson attends the test-firing of an RS-68, according to NASA (though a YouTube video from Top Gear incorrectly states he’s at a solid rocket booster test). It’s an engine used in the Delta IV family of rockets made by the United Launch Alliance. However, the engines can’t be seen in the video; they’re hidden by the test stands.