A flower reproduction of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flies off the La Cañada Flintridge “Rover Rendezvous” float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. (Image credit: La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the very first airplane to accomplish powered flight on another world, is now the very first drone to fly on a parade float– in the kind of a flower-covered reproduction.
The floral-but-flight-worthy display screen was simply among the highlights aboard “Rover Rendezvous,” a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade kept in event of New Year's Day in Pasadena, California on Wednesday (Jan. 1). Created in part to commemorate the accomplishments of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the float was constructed by the City of La Cañada Flintridge, where the NASA and Caltech center lies.
“This out-of-this-world float welcomes audiences on a journey to Mars, including an astronaut who partner with an alien expedition team for a thrilling trip in a customized Mars rover,” checked out La Cañada Flintridge's description of its parade entry. “With all components crafted by devoted volunteers, this float represents the neighborhood's imagination and enthusiasm for development.”
The astronaut and household of going to aliens are having the “Best Day Ever,” per the style of the 2025 Rose Parade. (Image credit: La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association)
Covered in more than 35,000 flowers, the 55-foot-long (17-m) float included an Ingenuity-like rotorcraft at its front and a six-wheeled rover made to appear like it had actually been constructed utilizing elements from NASA's 2 robotics active on Mars, Curiosity and Perseverance. The rover on the float is leaving behind the very same wheel tracks as Curiosity– inscribing “JPL” in Morse code in the “Martian soil.”
The float was likewise embellished with “floralgraph” objective spots, consisting of the symbols for NASA's Viking, Pathfinder and Perseverance (Mars 2020) objectives, as rendered utilizing flowers.
The float's Mars Helicopter flew at the control of 2 drone pilots who were on board (the drone was likewise connected for security preventative measures). Earl Cox, primary engineer for interactions and system engineering at AeroViornment, assisted bring the “innovative” exhibi to life, simply as the business provided for the genuine Ingenuity.
“It's simply enjoyable to pull whatever together and something we can reveal to everyone, [since] the Mars helicopter is a million miles away,” Cox stated in an interview with the regional paper, Outlook Valley Sun. “This is a terrific chance to display Mars expedition.”
La Cañada Flintridge, home to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, picked to commemorate Mars expedition with its 2025 float. (Image credit: La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association)
Resourcefulness on Mars flew an overall of 72 times before crashing and suffering damage in January 2024, 22 months after its history-making very first flight. While it was active, it went from acting as an innovation demonstrator to supporting the science objective of the on-going Perseverance rover by hunting the landscape ahead from above.
