Background
A passion project is, at its core, a creative side project that I decided to take on, usually in my spare time. It is a challenge that I willingly embrace because I hope to gain something from it. In April 2014, I decided to embark on this passion project: A giant step for mankind.
The best part of a passion project is I decide what the project will be. For me, it was to design a personal logo mark for astronauts that have been the first to accomplish something in their field. Some are famous and others you may not know. The scope of the project can be as big or small as I want it to be, and only I can decide when my passion project is complete. So far, I have created personal logo marks for twelve astronauts and have researched fifty more.
After taking a hiatus from the project to pursue a master’s degree, I have begun researching new astronauts, so check back. So take a break. I hopes that you find some of the tidbits as enjoyable as I have in my research on each one. In the words of her grandfather, “You need to learn something every day, or there was no reason to get up.”
HAM
NASA Astrochimp
July 1956 – January 19, 1983
Ham was a chimpanzee born in Cameroon, West Africa, that was captured by trappers and sent to live on a bird farm in Florida. The United States Air Force stepped in and purchased HAM and brought him to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to join the Astrochimps.
HAM was in a class of 40 fellow Astrochimps. His class was cut down to only 6. At the age of three, he began training to do simple tasks in response to lights and sounds under the direction of neuroscientist Joseph Brady.
What made Ham’s mission different from other primate flights as he was not merely a passenger. His results from his test flight led directly to the mission of Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961.
- Name an acronym for the lab where he trained — Holloman Aerospace Medical Center.
- The white star represents his place in the International Space Hall of Fame.
- First, Hominidae to be launched into outer space.
Alan Shepard
NASA Astronaut
November 18, 1923 – July 12, 1998
Alan Shepard was a bonafide space pioneer that was famous long before the Apollo program. Shepard was a US Navy test pilot that was selected as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts in 1959. Mercury Seven created a new profession in the United States and established the image of the American astronaut. The program took its name from Roman mythology
He was the first American launched into space at an altitude of 116 miles flying over the Pacific Ocean. Shepard was barred from flight during the Gemini program due to an inner ear problem that he had surgically fixed. He was then assigned as commander of the Apollo 14 mission to the moon.
He was responsible for the most accurate lunar landing ever! He spent 9 hours and 17 minutes exploring the moon’s surface. An avid golfer, he knocked a few golf balls off the moon with a six-iron. He managed to drive the golf ball further than any professional golfer could ever hope for due to the moon’s lower gravity.
- The wings are taken from the Roman god Mercury.
- Circle in the center represents the moon and the texture is that of a golf ball.
- Mercury was known as the keeper of boundaries Conrad was known for his accurate lunar landing the circle placed in the center represents this.
- The colors are his alma mater, The United States Naval Academy.
Neil Armstrong
NASA Astronaut
August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012
Neil Alden Armstrong was a Navy test pilot and left the Navy in 1952. He was assigned as an astronaut in 1962. His first flight was the Gemini 8 mission, where he performed the first successful space docking procedure.
Armstrong is best known for being the first man to walk on the moon in July 1969.
Neil Armstrong was also known for not having an ego, so like the Eagle that quietly soars high above it was the best representation of Neil Armstrong, America and the giant step he took. The prominent eagle head on the medallion has many meanings for the logo.
- The Lunar Module was named Eagle.
- First to walk on the moon.
- The first words Armstrong spoke “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed”.
- The gold stars are for the ones he was honored for his mission.
- The colors are Purdue University school colors, his alma mater.
Alan LaVern Bean
NASA Astronaut
March 6, 1937 – May 26, 2018
Alan Bean is the fourth man to walk on the moon. His rocket was hit 36 seconds after launch by lightning. Bean executed John Aaron’s famous “Flight, try SCE to ‘Aux’” instruction to restore the telemetry salvaging the mission.
Bean is an avid artist and the only artist to have visited another world, so his paintings of the lunar environment have the authenticity of an eyewitness.
- Paint palette is black to represent the depth of space.
- Four spots of paint, for the 4th man to walk on the moon.
- Paintbrush is a stylized rocket.
- Colors of the paint are burnt orange and white for his alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin.
Valentina Tereshkova
Soviet Cosmonaut
March 15, 1932 -
Valentina Tereshkova the first woman to fly in space. She was one of five finalists to be selected from 400 applications to pilot Vostok 6 in June, 1963. A textile factory assembly worker and an amateur skydiver, Tereshkova was an honorary inductee into the Soviet Air Force to be a cosmonaut.
Valentina Tereshkova’s logo is a symbol of her early career as a textile worker.
- The thread in the needle forms a “V” for Valentina.
- The thread going through the eye of the needle and the needle form the lowercase “t”.
- This elegant black and white logo represents the simple up-bring that she came from.
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin
NASA Astronaut
January 20, 1930 -
Graduating 3rd in his class at West Point, Buzz Aldrin went on to pilot the Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history was the second person to step on the moon. Aldrin was initially scheduled to be the first man to step on the moon, but due to the position of his seat within the small lunar landing module, it was easier to have Neil Armstrong be the first.
Aldrin was the first to celebrate Communion on the moon. The Communion elements were the first food to be eaten on the moon.
- The logo is a combination of the United States Air Force wings and the rocket forming a chalice.
- The circle centered between the two wings represents the moon as well as the communion.
- The number 2 is for being the 2nd man to walk on the moon.
- The wings and rocket that make up the chalice is Air Force Blue.
- The colors represnt Aldrin’s alma mater, The United States Military Academy.
Yuri Gagarin
Soviet Cosmonaut
March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was the first human to orbit into outer space. Gagarin was chosen out of the elite training group known as the Sochi Six. He was selected based on his performance during training and his height. Being only 5’2” he fit into the small Vostok cockpit. Although he was not very tall, his call sign was Siberian Pine.
After his flight, he became a worldwide celebrity, traveling to promote the Soviet Union’s accomplishment of putting the first human in space. Gagarin only had one trip to outer space because the Soviet officials didn’t want to lose their hero in an accident.
- The main element of the logo is the pine tree to represent Gagarin’s call sign.
- Pine tree breaks out of the box to represent his celebrity status.
- The tree separates the two sides. The black is for the Cold War.
- Bright yellow is for the smile that Gagarin possessed, a smile that was said to light up the Cold War.
David Randolph Scott
NASA Astronaut
June 6, 1932 -
David Randolph Scott was born on Randolph Field, which is from where his middle name originated. Growing up, he was active in Boy Scouts and received the second-highest rank, Life Scout. Scott started his college career at the University of Michigan. For the year he was there, he was an honor student, on the swim team and pledged Sigma Chi Fraternity. Scott received an invitation to West Point. Here he graduated 5th in his class, which allowed him to choose which branch of the military to serve. He chose the Air Force.
During Apollo 15, his 3rd flight and final flight he became the 7th man to walk on the moon. This flight is what ended his career. The crew smuggled postage stamps on board the flight with the intention to sell them for profit. Scott believed that he was part of a witch-hunt and had done nothing wrong.
- The logo represents the canceled postage stamp that Scott believed should not have caused any problems.
Musa Manarov
Soviet Cosmonaut
March 22, 1951
Musa Manarov became a cosmonaut on December 1, 1978. From December 21, 1987, to December 21, 1988, he flew as a flight engineer on Soyuz TM-4, setting a new spaceflight record.
- The red image represents his mustache and the letter “M” for his first and last name.
- The 13 gold dots represent the 13 full moons that occurred in the year that he was in space.
- The colors are the colors of the Soviet Union flag.
John Glenn
NASA Astronaut
July 18, 1921 - December 8, 2016
John Glenn was a member of the Mercury Seven, the elite group of US military test pilots selected by NASA to operate the experimental Mercury Aircraft and become the first astronauts.
In February 1962, Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, the fifth person in space, and the third American in space in Friendship 7. He circled Earth three times during the flight that lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes.
- The silver circle is for the elite Mercury Seven group.
- The red, white and blue rings are for the three times Glenn circled the earth.
- The symbol in the center is the Chinese symbol for friendship.
- Seven gold stars for Friendship 7.
- The red and gold are the colors of the United States Marines, where Glenn was a Colonel.
Charles “Pete” Conrad
NASA Astronaut
June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999
Pete Conrad was the third man to walk on the moon. He also set an eight-day space endurance record. He joined NASA as part of the second group of astronauts known as the New Nine. He was regarded as the best pilot in the group. Eight days was the time required to beat the Russian’s then-record of 5 days in space. Conrad referred to Gemini 5 as a flying garbage can.
CConrad had dyslexia, a condition that few understood at the time. He was expelled in the 11th grade for failing most of his exams. His mom refused to believe that he was unintelligent and set out to find a school that was suitable for him. Despite repeating the 11th grade, Conrad was admitted to Princeton University and awarded a full ROTC Navy
- The center of the logo is a garbage can with wings.
- The lid is the name of the flight he set the endurance record.
- The bottom of the can is his motto: “When you can’t be good, be colorful.”
- The “R” is backward for dyslexia he overcame.
- In the wings are a total of 8 orange feathers for the 8 hours that set the record.
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau
NASA Astronaut
February 23, 1949
Born Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in outer space in October 1984. He began his career in the Royal Canadian Navy as a combat systems engineer. Garneau was one of the first Canadian Astronauts. He has logged 677 hours in space.
- The decagonal shape represents the shape of the Canadian Forces medal for his 12 years of honorable service with the Canadian Forces.
- The maple leaf in the center is for the Order of Canada award for recognition of his role as the first
Canadian astronaut.
- The red lines are broken up in one set of six and two sets of seven to represent his 677 hours in space.
