Soccer Game to Feature Mars Images, Fireworks

Spectators going to the Rose Bowl today to see the Galaxy will get the added bonus of a view of Mars from out of this world.

Fans attending the Galaxy soccer game and July Fourth fireworks spectacular will be treated to the first images from the Mars Pathfinder of the red planet, displayed on the stadium’s new state-of-the art video board.

The Mars highlights will come from a camera on the spacecraft set to land today. It will beam images to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a few miles north of the Rose Bowl.

To ensure that the pictures get from JPL to the stadium on a day when heavy traffic is expected, Pasadena Police Chief Barney Melekian will embark on his own mission, according to Rose Bowl General Manager David Jacobs.

Melekian will personally deliver the videotape from JPL in his police car. The Mars highlights--assuming delivery goes as planned--will be shown at 9:30 p.m. after the Galaxy’s game against the New England Revolution.