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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!

#1

Mike Wazowski

Mike Wazowski

Mark Rober Report

SnowyLynx
Community Member
7 years ago

So cool!

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    #2

    RIP

    RIP

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Wow the movement is legit!!!

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    #3

    Martian Sample Return Mission

    Martian Sample Return Mission

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Holy COW!!!!!!!!!! Thats cool

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    #4

    Flip Switch Lights On

    Flip Switch Lights On

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    Monika Rhodes
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Haha, awesome.

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    #5

    E.T.

    E.T.

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    HopieTha CultshitPrincess
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    ET phone NASA

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    #6

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Mark Rober Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Mission Accomplished!!

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    #7

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

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    Maybe a Kitsune
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Amazing!

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    #8

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

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    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Pumpkin Pirate Ship.........On sail at a store near you!!

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    #9

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

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    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Spooktacular Effects!!

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    #10

    Coco - Día De Los Muertos Suite

    Coco - Día De Los Muertos Suite

    nasa-jpl Report

    brandon sat
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    coco?

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    #11

    A Team

    A Team

    Mark Rober Report

    K. LNU
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Anyone else hearing the theme song in their heads? lol

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    #12

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Mark Rober Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Space Craft Landing..........

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    #13

    The Harvest

    The Harvest

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    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Oh no!!

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    #14

    War Of The Worlds

    War Of The Worlds

    nasa-jpl Report

    Liz Karsa
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Oh I love this

    #15

    PAC - MAN

    PAC - MAN

    nasa-jpl Report

    AmetRaven
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Ms. Pac-man

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    Never miss a story that brings joy to the world. Add us on Google

    #16

    Baby Shark

    Baby Shark

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    Molly Tallmadge
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    DO DOO

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    #17

    Giant Meteor

    Giant Meteor

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    Perfumista Perfumista
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    This is HUUUUGE

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    #18

    Cookie Monster

    Cookie Monster

    nasa-jpl Report

    Aileen Cawlfield
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    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"

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    ............Run Forrest Run!!

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    #20

    InSight

    InSight

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Ughh terrible plumbing!!

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    #21

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

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    SnowyLynx
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Science

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    #22

    Polishing The Cannonball

    Polishing The Cannonball

    nasa-jpl Report

    Stannous Flouride
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    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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    #23

    Charlie Brown

    Charlie Brown

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    incoherent screaming
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Its the great pumpkin, charlie brown!

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    #24

    Look Inside

    Look Inside

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    That is Clawsome!!

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    #25

    Duh... There Is Water On Mars!

    Duh... There Is Water On Mars!

    nasa-jpl Report

    Last Hurrah
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Of course! See #17 above.

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    #26

    Stranger Things

    Stranger Things

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    Pamela
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    What am I looking at ?

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    #27

    Space Force

    Space Force

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Hello i'm Captain D. Ead

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    #28

    JPL. Caltech EDU

    JPL. Caltech EDU

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    LOL - so PC. Love the orange. ;-)

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    #29

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    Carol Emory
    Community Member
    7 years ago

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

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    #30

    Battle Pumpkins

    Battle Pumpkins

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Oh this is going to get messy!!

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    #31

    Signs Of Life

    Signs Of Life

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    Taryn Wallace
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    I'm a little sad that there hasn't been a Death Star pumpkin

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    #32

    Day Of The Dead: Celebrating The Cassini Mission

    Day Of The Dead: Celebrating The Cassini Mission

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    what?

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    #33

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Trump's economic boom?! The orange wave?

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    #34

    Happy Birthday

    Happy Birthday

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Looks like he went to Cal Arts and not MIT.

    #35

    Leonard

    Leonard

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Someone needs to talk to their therapists.

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    #36

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    incoherent screaming
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Love the zucchini

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    #37

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    CREEPY COOL?

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    #38

    Revenge Of The Pumpkins

    Revenge Of The Pumpkins

    nasa-jpl Report

    Cheyanne Davison
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    are those monster high dolls?

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    #39

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Mark Rober Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Our next Venice probe! Awesome!

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    #40

    Ghosts Of Pumpkins Past

    Ghosts Of Pumpkins Past

    nasa-jpl Report

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    #41

    Pumpkin Estimate Generator Comparison

    Pumpkin Estimate Generator Comparison

    nasa-jpl Report

    Carol Emory
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Cute... Pumpkin Pi!

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    #42

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    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?

    #43

    Meet The Spec

    Meet The Spec

    nasa-jpl Report

    #44

    Jerry The Pumpkin

    Jerry The Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    Lyone Fein
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    This is so funny....a protest display.

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    #45

    Congratsligo

    Congratsligo

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

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

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    #46

    Coco

    Coco

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    YUMMMY!

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    #47

    War Of The Worlds

    War Of The Worlds

    nasa-jpl Report

    #48

    Building Partnerships Piece By Piece

    Building Partnerships Piece By Piece

    nasa-jpl Report

    Magpie
    Community Member
    7 years ago

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

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    #49

    Banksy

    Banksy

    nasa-jpl Report

    QueenSKYEE
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Money!!!!!!!!!!

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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

    nasa-jpl Report

    #52

    Mars Waste Management

    Mars Waste Management

    nasa-jpl Report

    incoherent screaming
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Matt damon

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    #53

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

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    #54

    Out Of Sight

    Out Of Sight

    nasa-jpl Report

    Susann Campbell
    Community Member
    7 years ago

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

    #55

    Nasa Pumpkin

    Nasa Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    earringnut
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Europa!!!!

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    #56

    We Come In Proper Containment

    We Come In Proper Containment

    nasa-jpl Report

    Lyone Fein
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    A lot of these folks are pretty funny!

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    #57

    Starshade Pumpkin Launch Restraint And Unfurling System (Plus)

    Starshade Pumpkin Launch Restraint And Unfurling System (Plus)

    nasa-jpl Report

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    #58

    Class "H" Mission

    Class "H" Mission

    nasa-jpl Report

    #59

    Guess The Mass

    Guess The Mass

    nasa-jpl Report

    Susann Campbell
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAh Math, this is the scariest one for me.

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    #60

    Black Hole

    Black Hole

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Can I roll all the lame Pumpkin posts into this?

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    #61

    Operation Franko Drop

    Operation Franko Drop

    nasa-jpl Report

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    #62

    Nasa Halloween Pumpkin

    Nasa Halloween Pumpkin

    nasa-jpl Report

    #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"

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    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

    nasa-jpl Report

    Pandamand2
    Community Member
    7 years ago

    Someone needs their meds...

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