JPL's Latest Space Probe Goes to Colorado Blvd.

This time last year, the director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory sat at home watching the Rose Parade on television.

Out in the solar system, the Spirit rover was nearing Mars. Cozy in his living room, Charles Elachi daydreamed.

"I thought, 'If we are successful, it would be great to have a float in the parade,' " he recalled recently.

The mission was a success, and there will be a float.

A JPL-designed creation has landed on the streets of Pasadena -- a 50-foot, robot-like figure, in a takeoff posture, skates atop a model of the solar system, periodically firing carbon dioxide rockets from a pack on its broad back.

The giant's body is made up of models of 10 different JPL spacecraft, starting with its rover feet -- Spirit on the right, Opportunity on the left.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech, has 16 spacecraft currently collecting data from the cosmos, and its float celebrates all of them.

"For us, it's a golden age of deep space exploration," Elachi said.

For parade-goers, rain should not be a problem, according to the National Weather Service. As of late Friday, a 20% chance of rain was forecast for Pasadena, with today's temperatures ranging from the high 30s to the lower 60s.

But the latest storms were enough to leave nearly 14,000 parking spaces at the Brookside Golf Course either soggy or underwater and unusable. Rose Bowl officials on Friday called for drivers to take public transportation to the game.

From 6 a.m. until 3 p.m., Gold Line trains will run every 8 minutes. From 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. they will run every 10 minutes.

Among the options: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the Gold Line was prepared to take more than 30,000 additional riders to the Memorial Park station, where people going to the game can walk three blocks to the Parsons Engineering complex at Walnut Street and Fair Oaks Avenue for a free shuttle to the Rose Bowl. There are 2,000 parking spaces at Union Station downtown.

Fans can also take a $10 shuttle from the Staples Center, although only 2,500 spots are available.

"It's going to be a beautiful day," said Darryl Dunn, general manager of the Rose Bowl Operating Co. "People just need to leave earlier, and recognize there is a situation."

"We're hoping all the weather forecasters are correct" and it won't rain, said Bill Flinn, chief operating officer of the Tournament of Roses. "People are going to be wondering how we are able to control this."