Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flies once more as first drone on Rose Parade float

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the primary plane to attain powered flight on one other planet, is now the primary drone to fly on a parade float — within the type of a flower-covered duplicate.

The floral-but-flight-worthy show was simply one of many highlights aboard “Rover Rendezvous,” a float within the Tournament of Roses Parade held in celebration of New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California on Wednesday (Jan. 1). Designed partially to rejoice the achievements of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the float was constructed by the City of La Cañada Flintridge, the place the NASA and Caltech facility is situated.

“This out-of-this-world float invitations viewers on a journey to Mars, that includes an astronaut who groups up with an alien exploration crew for an exhilarating experience in a modified Mars rover,” learn La Cañada Flintridge’s description of its parade entry. “With all parts crafted by devoted volunteers, this float represents the group’s creativity and keenness for innovation.”

Covered in additional than 35,000 flowers, the 55-foot-long (17-m) float featured an Ingenuity-like rotorcraft at its entrance and a six-wheeled rover made to seem like it had been constructed utilizing elements from NASA’s two robots energetic on Mars, Curiosity and Perseverance. For instance, the rover on the float is forsaking the identical wheel tracks as Curiosity — imprinting “JPL” in Morse code within the “Martian soil.”

The float was additionally embellished with “floralgraph” mission patches, together with the emblems for NASA’s Viking, Pathfinder and Perseverance (Mars 2020) missions, as rendered utilizing flowers.

The float’s Mars Helicopter took flight on the management of two drone pilots who have been on board (the drone was additionally tethered for security precautions). Earl Cox, chief engineer for communications and system engineering at AeroViornment, helped deliver the “ingenious” exhibi to life, simply as the corporate did for the true Ingenuity.

“It’s simply enjoyable to tug every part collectively and one thing we are able to present to everyone, [since] the Mars helicopter is 1,000,000 miles away,” Cox mentioned in an interview with the native newspaper, Outlook Valley Sun. “This is a good alternative to showcase Mars exploration.”

Ingenuity on Mars flew a complete of 72 occasions earlier than crashing and struggling injury in January 2024, 22 months after its history-making first flight. While it was energetic, it went from serving as a expertise demonstrator to supporting the science mission of the on-going Perseverance rover by scouting the panorama forward from above.

The inclusion of fantastical alien guests was impressed by this yr’s theme for the parade, “Best Day Ever.” The float continues the story that started on La Cañada’s 2017 entry, which depicted a younger boy constructing a rocket in his yard.

“We thought it would be very intelligent to have our little intrepid astronaut make it to Mars, upon which he sees a rover and meets an alien, they usually have a enjoyable experience,” Ernest Koeppen, president of the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association, instructed the Outlook Valley Sun. “Seems to me, that’d be the very best day ever.”

“Rover Rendevous” was additionally the “greenest” float within the parade, swapping out its propane-powered animation engine and hydraulics with a full EV battery managed motor and generator.

One different float seemed towards outer house to signify this yr’s parade theme. “Chasing Our Dreams” from Odd Fellows & Rebekahs, a sororal and repair group, featured an astronaut using a rocket alongside a rainbow-colored path above Earth, previous Mars and Saturn and in direction of the celebs. Built by the Phoenix Decorating Company, the float was adorned with 59,600 flowers, together with yellow and white starburst mums.

Previous years’ Tournament of Roses Parades have celebrated house exploration historical past, together with a flower-formed mannequin of house shuttle Endeavour in 2013 and the inclusion of a space-flown rose in 2009. JPL has additionally represented itself in previous Rose Parades, designing floats that depicted its Viking Mars lander in 1976 and the Spitzer Space Telescope with eight different spacecraft to kind an enormous Voltron-like robotic in 2005.