Space Pin Mission NASA - HJ-1870

Each of these enamel pins is one of the mission patches for a famous space mission.

The NASA insignia, nicknamed the "meatball," was designed by employee James Modarelli in 1959. The design incorporates references to different aspects of the mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The round shape of the insignia represents a planet. The stars represent space. The red v-shaped vector represents aeronautics. The circular orbit around the agency's name represents space travel.