MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Mary Beth Murrill (818) 354-6478 (JPL)
Clara Potes-Fellow, Paul Klein, (626) 302-2255 (Edison
International)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 29, 1999
SPACE EXPLORATION HONORED IN ROSE PARADE FLOAT
Space exploration and the missions conducted by NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory are being honored as part of a Rose Parade
float called "Soaring to the Future," due to roll down the
streets of Pasadena on New Year's Day 2000.
Riding on the Edison International float entry will be JPL
Director Dr. Ed Stone, Richard Cook of JPL's Mars exploration
program, NASA astronaut Yvonne Cagle, M.D., and several Southern
California science students.
"Soaring to the Future" was conceived by Edison
International as a floral tribute to Southern Californians who
have helped put humans on the Moon and robotic craft into space.
Designed in cooperation with JPL and the California Institute of
Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, the 16.7-meter (55-foot), all-
electric float features a large eagle -- a symbol of power and
strength -- and a red planet, symbolizing Mars. The entry also
includes elaborate "floralgraphs" portraying the history of space
exploration.
"We salute the women and men of JPL for helping to increase
our knowledge of the solar system," said Hector De La Torre,
Edison's float project manager. "We wanted our float to pay
tribute to the many women and men from Southern California who
have contributed to America's space program."
Cagle, Stone, and Cook will be joined by Southern California
science students: Caltech's Clinton Conley of Orange County,
Calif., Somer Scott of Sonora High School, Whittier, and Smith
Sirisakorn, a California Academy of Math and Science Academy
student from Hawthorne.
The Edison International float will be powered by solar-
charged electric batteries, making it the world's largest
electric vehicle. By New Year's Eve, more than 3,500 volunteers,
including many JPL employees and their families, will have
donated more than 25,000 hours of their time to decorate the
float.
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12-29-99 MBM
#99-104