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During the day NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California builds robots fit for space, but after hours they put their brainpower together for something a bit more rudimentary - pumpkin carving.

Yes, for the past seven years during the Halloween season these brainiacs have competed in an 'unofficial' jack-o-lantern carving contest, which NASA mechanical engineer Mike Meacham said gives them a chance to let out some creativity and bond. "I don't think, even at the time, they appreciated just how seriously our engineers were going to take it," he said about the first Halloween pumpkin contest - and the evidence is clear. From a guitar player to Charlie Brown on mars, these pumpkin ideas were out of this world.

The only limits were their imaginations, with three simple rules: no planning, carving or competing during work hours. "They do their funny pumpkin carvings in their own time," said Meacham, who's co-running the competition this year. "They go home, use their own resources, plan it out, and all we give them is a pumpkin."

While there is no prize (other than bragging rights) these competitors brought their carving game to another universe. To see these elaborate jack-o-lantern faces scroll down below! Official voting for the competition may be over, but you can still vote for your favorite pumpkin with us!

#3

Martian Sample Return Mission

Martian Sample Return Mission

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#8

Nasa Pumpkin

Nasa Pumpkin

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#14

War Of The Worlds

War Of The Worlds

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Jaguarundi
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The original radio broadcast is 80 this year, how appropriate!

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#18

Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster

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Aileen Cawlfield
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel like I would have stolen one of the cookies as I walked by... I’m such a horrible person lol.

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#19

"Mars Samples Are Like A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You're Gonna Get"

"Mars Samples Are Like A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You're Gonna Get"

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#22

Polishing The Cannonball

Polishing The Cannonball

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Stannous Flouride
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

An inside joke. It’s called the “Polish the Cannonball Syndrome.” This is a malady that affects organizations where design of new products is one of the mainstays of the business Since business today is all about “time to market,” the lower the time to get a new product to market can make all the difference in beating the competition. The “Polish the Cannonball Syndrome” adds a new dimension to why projects take longer than planned. It revolves around the fact that engineering will continue to tweak a product design despite it already meeting the basic requirements for functionality. This tweaking includes adding features, with sometimes little value, or making irrelevant improvements that don’t affect product functionality. Thus extending the time until the end product is released.

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#29

Nasa Pumpkin

Nasa Pumpkin

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Carol Emory
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like this one because of the clever use of the butternut squash!

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#31

Signs Of Life

Signs Of Life

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#34

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

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#41

Pumpkin Estimate Generator Comparison

Pumpkin Estimate Generator Comparison

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#42

Nasa Pumpkin

Nasa Pumpkin

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Pandamand2
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the reason why, NASA and JPL are now outsourcing jobs to Space X, etc... (If someone can explain this - please do). I see Global Cooling coming?

#44

Jerry The Pumpkin

Jerry The Pumpkin

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#45

Congratsligo

Congratsligo

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Pandamand2
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think someone has blue balls that turned black... unable to impact Mother Earth.

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#47

War Of The Worlds

War Of The Worlds

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#48

Building Partnerships Piece By Piece

Building Partnerships Piece By Piece

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Magpie
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh very nice. Um not sure if it is Halloween compatible , but I just like it.

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#49

Banksy

Banksy

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#50

Ziggy Starshade

Ziggy Starshade

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#51

Siemens Nx Demo: Million Dollar Pumpkin

Siemens Nx Demo: Million Dollar Pumpkin

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#53

Nasa Pumpkin

Nasa Pumpkin

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#54

Out Of Sight

Out Of Sight

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Susann Campbell
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

From Squash world, we come in peace. Take us to the Great Pumpkin.

#56

We Come In Proper Containment

We Come In Proper Containment

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#57

Starshade Pumpkin Launch Restraint And Unfurling System (Plus)

Starshade Pumpkin Launch Restraint And Unfurling System (Plus)

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#58

Class "H" Mission

Class "H" Mission

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#60

Black Hole

Black Hole

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#61

Operation Franko Drop

Operation Franko Drop

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#62

Nasa Halloween Pumpkin

Nasa Halloween Pumpkin

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#63

"Mars Samples Are Like A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You're Gonna Get"

"Mars Samples Are Like A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You're Gonna Get"

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Pandamand2
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So original and PC... How about Nasa predicting what they might find? Water and Life until recently? Oh that's new...

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#64

Winter Is Not Coming

Winter Is Not Coming

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