NASA insignia

{{short description|Logo designs used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | header = NASA insignia | image1 = US-NASA-Seal-EO10849.jpg | width1 = 200 | alt1 = Original 1959 NASA seal, rendered in black and white | caption1 = 1959 NASA seal, black and white | image2 = NASA seal.svg | width2 = 200 | alt2 = A blue sphere with stars, a yellow planet with a white moon; a red chevron representing wings, and an orbiting spacecraft; surrounded by a white border with "NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION U.S.A." (NASA) in red letters | caption2 = 1961 NASA seal, color | image3 = NASA logo (2023 colors).svg | width3 = 200 | caption3 = NASA "meatball" insignia, primary logo 1959–1975, 1992–present | alt3 = A blue sphere with stars, white letters N-A-S-A in Helvetica font; a red chevron representing wings, and an orbiting spacecraft | image4 = NASA Worm logo.svg | width4 = 200 | alt4 = A red line forming stylized letters N-A-S-A | caption4 = NASA "worm" logotype 1975–1992, re-instated as a secondary logo in 2020 }} The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has three official insignias: the NASA seal, the NASA insignia (known as the "meatball")<ref name="nasameatball">{{cite web|last1=Garber|first1=Steve|title=NASA "Meatball" Logo|url=https://history.nasa.gov/meatball.htm|website=NASA History Program Office|publisher=NASA|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112010815/https://history.nasa.gov/meatball.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and the NASA logotype (known as the "worm").<ref>{{cite book|title=Mixing Messages: Graphic Design in Contemporary American Culture |author= Ellen Lupton |year=1996|publisher=Princeton Architectural|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQpraD6b0XoC&q=%22NASA+logo%22+worm&pg=PA107|isbn=156898099X}}</ref><ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RO&p_theme=ro&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAEA2A90DC5DC96&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM NASA takes 'meatball' over 'worm'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004035911/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RO&p_theme=ro&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAEA2A90DC5DC96&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=2018-10-04 }}, The Roanoke Times, (May 24, 1992).</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3418147.stm|title=Rover's stunning image of lander|work=BBC News|date=2004-01-21|access-date=2010-01-06|archive-date=2020-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031084842/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3418147.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The logotype was retired from official use from May 22, 1992, until April 3, 2020, when it was reinstated as a secondary logo.

==History== The NASA logo dates from 1959, when the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) transformed into an agency that advanced both astronautics and aeronautics—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. === Seal=== Often called the "NASA Administrator's Seal", the agency's seal is typically used for official correspondence, events and activities connected with the Administrator of NASA.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=NASA Brand Guidelines |url=https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/brand-guidelines/ |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=nasa.gov |language=en-US}}</ref> [[File:U S Flag Retired from Marshall Building 4200 (MSFC-202200012).tiff|thumb|The NASA flag featuring the Administrator seal being flown atop Marshall Space Flight Center.]] The design of the seal was approved with an executive order by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959.<ref name="order">Executive Order 10849 (Wikisource)</ref> The design was slightly modified, and colorized with an executive order by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.<ref>Executive Order 10942 (Wikisource)</ref>

In the Administrator seal, the yellow sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron  is a wing representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and the white arc represents the path of an orbiting spacecraft.

=== "Meatball" insignia === The NASA insignia originated when NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan asked James Modarelli of Lockheed for help creating a simplified version of the agency’s seal for informal uses such as signage and badges. The design process occurred alongside the finalization of the official seal.{{citation needed|date=April 2026}} The resulting insignia omits the seal’s outer ring and inner elements, retaining the white stars, orbital path, and red chevron on a blue field, with large white letters "NASA".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Chambers |first1=Joseph R. |title=Emblems of exploration: logos of the NACA and NASA |last2=Chambers |first2=Mark A. |date=2015 |publisher=NASA |isbn=978-1-62683-028-8 |series=Monographs in aerospace history |location=Washington, DC}}</ref>

[[File:Space Shuttle Endeavour Toured California in 2012 (ED12-0317-073).jpg|thumb|Space Shuttle Endeavour being carried by the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in 2012. While the meatballs are decorated on the Space Shuttle's wing and fuselage, the Carrier Aircraft also featured the meatball-derived logotype on their tails.]] The insignia was created in 1958 by George Neago, an industrial artist at the Lockheed Missiles Division in Palo Alto, California, under the supervision of Modarelli, who managed the division’s Reports Department. Modarelli later joined NASA as manager of the Reports Division at the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-04 |title=James Modarelli, Glenn Research Center Hall of Fame, 2015 Inductee |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/glenn-history/james-modarelli/ |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=NASA}}</ref>

The insignia acquired the nickname "meatball" in 1975, reportedly coined by Frank Rowsome, head of technical publications at NASA Headquarters, to distinguish it from the agency's logotype.<ref name=":1" /> The term "meatball" in aeronautics refers to the glowing light used in optical landing system.<ref name="nasameatball" />

=== "Worm" logotype === In 1974, as part of the Federal Graphics Improvement Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, NASA commissioned Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn to design a more modern logo.<ref name="nyt110803">{{cite news |last=Greenbaum |first=Hilary |date=August 3, 2011 |title=Who Made Those NASA Logos? |url=http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/who-made-those-nasa-logos/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916042431/http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/who-made-those-nasa-logos/ |archive-date=September 16, 2011 |access-date=August 3, 2011 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In 1975, agency adopted the resulting modernist logotype, a red, stylized rendering of the letters "NASA".<ref name="insignia history">{{cite web|title=History of the Insignia|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/insignia/text/insignia.html|publisher=NASA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404130048/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/insignia/text/insignia.html|archive-date=2005-04-04}}</ref> The horizontal bars of the "A"s are omitted, with the negative space suggesting the tip of a rocket.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-08-03|title=NASA logo evolution: meatball vs worm|url=https://www.logodesignlove.com/nasa-logo|access-date=2021-11-28|website=Logo Design Love|language=en|archive-date=2021-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128021811/https://www.logodesignlove.com/nasa-logo|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Logos With Words: The Delicate Relationship Of Fonts As A Logo {{!}} LOGO.com|url=https://logo.com/blog/logos-with-words|access-date=2021-11-28|website=logo.com|language=en|archive-date=2021-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128021811/https://logo.com/blog/logos-with-words|url-status=live}}</ref> The logotype was derogatorily nicknamed the "worm" by employees who preferred the old insignia.<ref name=":1" />

Danne and Blackburn also produced a Graphics Standards Manual, which later became widely regarded in the field of graphic design.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NASA Graphics Standards Manual - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-graphics-standards-manual/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2015, a Kickstarter campaign raised nearly $1 million to fund a hardcover reissue of the manual.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brewer |first=Jenny |date=12 April 2016 |title=Nasa Graphics Standards Manual Reissue now on general release |url=https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/nasa-graphics-standards-manual-reissue-general-release-130416 |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=itsnicethat |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=National Aeronautics and Space Administration graphics standards manual: NASA |date=2015 |publisher=Standards Manual |isbn=978-0-692-58653-2 |editor-last=Danne |editor-first=Richard |location=New York |editor-last2=Blackburn |editor-first2=Bruce |editor-last3=Bonanos |editor-first3=Christopher |editor-last4=Reed |editor-first4=Jesse |editor-last5=Smyth |editor-first5=Hamish |editor-last6=USA}}</ref> NASA subsequently released a scanned version online.<ref>[https://www3.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_graphics_manual_nhb_1430-2_jan_1976.pdf National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Graphics Standards Manual, NHB 1430.2] (January, 1976)</ref>

In 2025, the logotype was included in ''Pirouette: Turning Points in Design,'' an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art highlighting "widely recognized design icons [...] highlighting pivotal moments in design history."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-23 |title=NASA Worm as Art, Museum of Modern Art Opens Exhibition Featuring NASA Worm |url=https://www.nasa.gov/get-involved/art-program/museum-of-modern-art-exhibits-nasa-worm/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=NASA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bruce Blackburn, Richard Danne. NASA logo. 1976 |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/467589?artist_id=8081&page=1&sov_referrer=artist |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=The Museum of Modern Art}}</ref>[[File:SpaceX Demo-2 Rollout (NHQ202005210001).jpg|thumb|The 2020 rollout of Crew Demo-2 marking the revival of "the worm" typeface.]]

The NASA "meatball" insignia was retired from official use in 1975 and reinstated on May 22, 1992, by Administrator Daniel Goldin, who sought to boost morale among employees who had not accepted the "worm" logotype.<ref name=":1" />

Following its retirement, the logotype remained in limited use for agency-approved commercial merchandising.

In 2020, the logotype was reintroduced by Administrator Jim Bridenstine and applied to the booster of SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dunbar |first1=Brian |title=The Worm is Back! |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-worm-is-back |website=NASA |date=2 April 2020 |access-date=2 April 2020 |archive-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402173614/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-worm-is-back |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20200408">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=NASA's 'Worm' Logo Will Return to Space – The new old logo, dropped in the 1990s in favor of a more vintage brand, will adorn a SpaceX rocket that is to carry astronauts to the space station in May. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/science/nasa-logo-worm-spacex.html |date=8 April 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027203512/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/science/nasa-logo-worm-spacex.html |url-status=live }}</ref> NASA subsequently authorized the logotype for use as a supplemental graphic alongside the insignia when approved by agency leadership.<ref name=":0" />

==Usage regulation== [[File:Integrity and ESM of Artemis II.jpg|thumb|The "worm" and "meatball" on the European Service Module and Orion MPCV ''Integrity'' of Artemis II.]] The official NASA seal is reserved for use in connection with the NASA Administrator. It is used in more formal traditional and ceremonial events such as award presentations and press conferences. According to NASA Headquarters, the seal should never be used with the NASA insignia, since the two elements are intended for different purposes and are visually incompatible when seen side by side.

Since its reintroduction in 2020, the "worm" logotype has been used only for human spaceflight-related activities, and often appears alongside the "meatball" insignia.

The seal, insignia, and logotype are not in the public domain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Media Usage Guidelines|url=https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/|website=National Aeronautic and Space Administration|access-date=29 September 2024|archive-date=24 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924063240/https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/|url-status=live}}</ref> Their usage is restricted under Code of Federal Regulations 14 CFR 1221.<ref name="14cfr1221">{{cite web |url=http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/14cfr1221_07.html |title=Code of Federal Regulations 14 CFR 1221 |access-date=2007-11-21 |archive-date=2012-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206181607/http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/14cfr1221_07.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The colors used in the insignia are the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://users.cs.jmu.edu/bernstdh/web/common/policies/NASA_StyleGuide_Nov06.pdf |title=NASAstyle FULL GUIDE – NASA StyleGuide |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |date=November 2006 |access-date=2017-06-05 |archive-date=2020-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112040610/https://users.cs.jmu.edu/bernstdh/web/common/policies/NASA_StyleGuide_Nov06.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break}} Red {{color test|#FC3D21}} * Pantone 185 * Process 0C, 100M, 100Y, 0K * RGB 252R, 61G, 33B * HEX #FC3D21 {{Col-break}} Blue {{color test|#0B3D91}} * Pantone 286 * Process 100C, 060M, 0Y, 0K * RGB 11R, 61G, 145B * HEX #0B3D91 {{col-end}} [[File:SpaceX Crew-2 Rollout at LC-39A (KSC-20210416-PH-SPX01 0006).jpg|thumb|The "meatball" and "worm" decorating SpaceX Crew-2's launch vehicle.]] The red color used for the logotype is {{color test|#E03C31}} Pantone 179; HEX #E03C31.<ref name=":1" />

==Popularity== The NASA logos are popular insignias and have been used widely in American culture, as well as representing the United States and its capabilities in space.<ref name="Wattles Business 2022 h810"/> Especially since 2017, NASA insignia have become popular fashion elements, after the fashion company Coach received permission for using the then-retired "worm" logo on a line of purses and clothing. After that, additional companies have used the "worm" logo in their designs, and NASA has reintroduced its official use.<ref name="Wattles Business 2022 h810">{{cite web |last=Wattles |first=Jackie |date=2022-07-23 |title=Why everyone's wearing NASA-branded clothes |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/tech/nasa-apparel-popularity-space/index.html |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=CNN}}</ref> ''Star Trek'' cited NASA as an inspiration for its symbols.<ref name="Cooley 2023 l186">{{cite web | last=Cooley | first=John | title=The Starfleet Insignia Explained | website=Star Trek | date=2023-07-24 | url=https://www.startrek.com/news/starfleet-insignia-explained | access-date=2023-10-14}}</ref><ref name="Burrows 2020 u339">{{cite web | last=Burrows | first=Jillian Ada | title=Star Trek or US Space Force?. Let us settle this debate once and for… — Jill Burrows | website=Medium | date=2020-05-20 | url=https://medium.com/jill-burrows/star-trek-or-us-space-force-251a7494ad5f | access-date=2023-10-14}}</ref><ref name="FACT TREK 2021 c936">{{cite web | title=Emblem-atic | website=FACT TREK | date=2021-10-06 | url=https://www.facttrek.com/blog/emblematic | access-date=2023-10-14}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}} {{USGovernment|url=https://history.nasa.gov/meatball.htm|title=NASA 'Meatball' Logo}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://www.worldwidetechnologies.info/2022/09/history-of-nasa.html History of NASA] *[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/style/tmagazine/08rawsthorn.html Art of the Seal, ''New York Times'' 2009-03-08] *[https://www.grapheine.com/en/graphic-design-en/nasa-logo The history of the meatball vs the worm] *[https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nasa_graphics_manual_nhb_1430-2_jan_1976.pdf 1976 NASA Graphics Standards Manual], written shortly after the introduction of the worm logotype

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa Insignia}} Logo Category:Logos Category:Insignia Category:Collection of the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) Category:Symbols introduced in 1959 Category:Symbols introduced in 1975 Category:1959 establishments in the United States Category:1975 establishments in the United States