Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Takes Flight at the Rose Parade: A Cosmic Celebration on Wheels

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the inaugural machine to accomplish powered flight on an extraterrestrial body, is now the first drone to soar on a parade float — presented as a flower-adorned model.

The floral yet flight-capable display was merely one of the attractions on “Rover Rendezvous,” a float featured in the Tournament of Roses Parade, commemorating New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday (Jan. 1). Created partly to honor the accomplishments of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), this float was constructed by the City of La Cañada Flintridge, which hosts the NASA and Caltech facility.

“This extraordinary float takes viewers on a voyage to Mars, showcasing an astronaut collaborating with an alien exploration team for an exciting journey in a modified Mars rover,” stated La Cañada Flintridge’s description of its parade entry. “With all elements created by devoted volunteers, this float embodies the community’s ingenuity and enthusiasm for innovation.”

Adorned with over 35,000 flowers, the 55-foot-long (17-m) float showcased an Ingenuity-like rotorcraft at its forefront and a six-wheeled rover designed to resemble components from NASA’s two functioning robots on Mars, Curiosity and Perseverance. For instance, the rover on the float is leaving the same wheel impressions as Curiosity — engraving “JPL” in Morse code into the “Martian soil.”

The float was also embellished with “floralgraph” mission patches, including the insignias for NASA’s Viking, Pathfinder, and Perseverance (Mars 2020) missions, displayed through floral arrangements.

The float’s Mars Helicopter ascended under the guidance of two drone pilots aboard (the drone was also fastened for safety). Earl Cox, chief engineer for communications and systems engineering at AeroViornment, facilitated the creation of the “ingenious” exhibit, akin to the work done for the actual Ingenuity.

“It’s simply enjoyable to bring everything together, something we can present to everyone, [since] the Mars helicopter is a million miles away,” Cox mentioned in a conversation with the local publication, Outlook Valley Sun. “This is an excellent opportunity to highlight Mars exploration.”

Ingenuity on Mars has completed a total of 72 flights before its crash and subsequent damage in January 2024, 22 months following its trailblazing first flight. While operational, it transitioned from being a technology demonstrator to assisting in the scientific mission of the ongoing Perseverance rover by scouting the terrain ahead from an aerial perspective.

The introduction of imaginative alien guests was influenced by this year’s parade theme, “Best Day Ever.” The float continues the narrative initiated by La Cañada’s 2017 entry, which portrayed a young boy constructing a rocket in his garden.

“We thought it would be quite clever to have our little adventurous astronaut reach Mars, where he encounters a rover and meets an extraterrestrial, leading to a thrilling ride,” Ernest Koeppen, president of the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association, expressed to the Outlook Valley Sun. “It appears to me, that would be the best day ever.”

“Rover Rendezvous” also stood out as the “greenest” float in the parade, replacing its propane-powered animation engine and hydraulics with a fully electric battery controlled motor and generator.

Another float drew inspiration from outer space to symbolize this year’s parade theme. “Chasing Our Dreams” from Odd Fellows & Rebekahs, a sororal and service organization, showcased an astronaut riding a rocket along a rainbow-hued path above Earth, past Mars and Saturn, and towards the stars. Crafted by the Phoenix Decorating Company, the float was embellished with 59,600 flowers, featuring yellow and white starburst chrysanthemums.

Past years’ Tournament of Roses Parades have celebrated the legacy of space exploration, including ablossom-shaped replica of space shuttle Endeavour in 2013 alongside the presentation of a space-traveled rose in 2009. JPL has previously showcased itself in several Rose Parades, crafting floats that illustrated its Viking Mars lander in 1976 and the Spitzer Space Telescope alongside eight additional spacecraft to create a massive Voltron-like robot in 2005.