Space and Physics
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Every Halloween, NASA has a competition to create the best jack-o'-lanterns. But NASA employees aren't the kind of people to do things half-heartedly, and their creations are about to make you want to blast your own weak efforts into space in shame, a task for which you'll ironically also need NASA's help.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are only given an hour to carve their pumpkins, though they are allowed to prepare non-pumpkin parts ahead of the competition.
"It's totally different from our normal engineering work, which makes it a nice change of pace," Billy Allen, a JPL mechatronics engineer on the Mars 2020 rover, said in a statement. "You don't get to do much arts and crafts in the rover world."
The pumpkins are creating a storm on social media, making our own efforts look like trash. You won't be surprised to learn that a lot of them have a space theme and are jam-packed full of puns.
Check them out below, starting with one of this year's winners: "Lunar Jack-o'-lander" – a tribute to Apollo 11's 50th anniversary, created by Billy Allen and team. The other winner, titled "Lucy's Chocolate Factory", is a life-size recreation of the Job Switching episode of I Love Lucy.
And here are some glorious entries from previous years that we couldn't resist including.
And, why not, an entry from the Sun.
