There’s nice pumpkin carvings, there’s really good pumpkin carvings, and then there’s NASA level pumpkin carvings. Every Halloween, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) gives its engineers and scientists a bunch of pumpkins and one hour to come up with the best they can — yes, it’s everything you hoped it would be.
This year, they’ve really outdone themselves, with jack-o-lanterns such as a mini-Juno and a Pac-Man pumpkin. As Science Alert so eloquently puts it, it’s really a carving competition as much as a Halloween science fair on crack. In the end, everyone wins.
Here are some of the most spectacular designs, courtesy of Aaron Yazzie, a mechanical engineer at NASA – and before you ask, yes, that is a solar system spinning inside a pumpkin.
Space Telescope #NASAPumpkin pic.twitter.com/fQzSwnlfKq
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
A @NASASMAP pumpkin #NASAPumpkin pic.twitter.com/39sbaEO5D1
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
Most Useless #NASAPumpkin pic.twitter.com/YkNbUzHQSc
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
Mars Sample Return Pumpkin #NASAPumpkin pic.twitter.com/QEjyDsOSQg
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
A “Happy 80th Birthday @NASAJPL ” #NASAPumpkin with a birthday card to sign. (JPL was founded on Halloween 1936) pic.twitter.com/FrivYuGQR9
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
The @NASAJuno #NASAPumpkin pic.twitter.com/D344wtcCer
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
Ninja Starshade #NASAPumpkin (the blade is Starshade) pic.twitter.com/uiZhaWtuHN
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
PAC-MAN #NASAPumpkin pic.twitter.com/5BYTskeHEB
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
And best for last, my group’s entry: Leonardo, the Mars Copter #NASAPumpkin! pic.twitter.com/3E0Mz0aC94
— Aaron Yazzie (@YazzieSays) October 27, 2016
