Every Halloween, the folks at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory put everyone else’s jack-o’-lantern game to shame with some heavily engineered pumpkins. This year brought some of the nerdiest entries in the contest’s history.
The JPL team held its showcase yesterday afternoon, and the winner hasn’t yet been publicly announced. But when we contacted NASA, a spokesperson informed us that an outstanding display themed around Pixar’s Coco tied with the truly terrifying work, “The Infinite Paperwork Inside Every Spacecraft.”
Last year’s champion, a Europa (clipper) Pirate Ship returned as part of a display in which its eviscerated by a Planetary Sample Acquisition Submarine Pumpkin.
Some of our favorites include a pumpkin welcoming NASA’s new colleagues at “Space Force” that screams “born to die.” And of course, there’s a Day of the Dead-styled shrine to the dearly departed Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. You can check out the other contenders below and check out some nice making-of photos on NASA’s Flicker account.
