72-200 Apollo 17 mission patch
NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas 77058
- FOR RELEASE: September 22, 1972
- Jack Riley 713/483-5111
- RELEASE NO: 72-200
APOLLO 17 MISSION PATCH
Early in March of this year, Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan put into words on paper the Apollo 17 mission patch ideas he and his fellow crewmen, Ronald E. Evans and Harrison H. Schmitt, had been discussing.
The ideas were formless in terms of design, so the words dealt with the message the crew wanted the patch to convey.
- "Our desire is that Apollo 17 symbolize not the end of an era, but rather the culmination of the beginning of mankind's greatest achievements in his history -- achievements which only have as their bounds the infinity of space and time -- symbolization that man's seemingly impossible dreams can become limitless realities," he wrote.
- '"We would like to recognize the historical foundation upon which the thoughts of the future are based -- and, so as never to forget, we also hope to pay tribute to the Apollo Program and our nation, its people and its heritage, which have made these accomplishments all possible. The symbolism which captures these ideas sounds sophisticated and complicated to create. We hope it is not, because it is our desire to capture our theme with simplicity."
With these words as a guide, and with further collaboration with the crew, artist Robert T. McCall designed the patch which was made public this week.
The dominant design element is Apollo, the Greek god of the sun. The particular image selected is the Apollo of Belvedere sculpture which is in The Vatican Gallery in Rome.
Suspended in space behind the head of Apollo is an American eagle of contemporary design. The red bars of the eagle's wings represent the bars in the American flag; the three white stars symbolize the three astronauts of the Apollo 17 crew.
The background of the patch is deep blue space and within it are the moon, the planet Saturn and a spiral galaxy or nebula. The moon is partially overlaid by the eagle's wing, suggesting that this is a celestial body that man has visited and in that sense conquered.
The thrust of the eagle and the gaze of Apollo to the right and toward Saturn and the galaxy is meant to imply that man's goals in space someday will include the planets and perhaps even the stars.
The colors of the emblem are red, white and blue, the colors of the American flag, with the addition of gold to symbolize the golden age of space flight which will begin with the Apollo 17 lunar landing.
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