Mariner 2 Parade Float
Date: 1 Jan 1963

For millions of Americans, 1963 began with the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade broadcast from Pasadena, Calif., led by Grand Marshall Dr. William Pickering, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Pickering was followed by a float honoring JPL's Mariner 2 space probe. Their prominent positions in the parade reflected the success of Mariner 2, the first spacecraft to encounter another planet, Venus, less than a month earlier in December 1962.

Credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory