NASA is bringing back its 'worm' logo, and has used the symbol on its new Space X Falcon 9, which is due to take off in May – marking, as NASA puts it, the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil. But never mind the wonder of human spaceflight, people are really, really excited about the return of NASA's previous logo.
What's the big deal with the worm? Well, the logotype known as the worm was used between 1975 and 1992, and is much-loved for its clean and sleek forms, although it was quite controversial when it was initially brought in (read more in our NASA logo piece, or see our logo design guide for more on logos in general). After 1992, the logo known as the 'meatball', which was the original NASA logo, was brought back. But could this new appearance of the worm mark a wider change for the NASA logo?
The meatball (left) vs the worm (right) (Image credit: NASA)
In short, the answer is yes. "There's a good chance you'll see the logo featured in other official ways on the mission and in the future," says NASA on its website announcement, entitled 'the worm is back'.
"It seems the worm logo wasn't really retired, it was just resting up for the next chapter of space exploration."
So now we know. And we can't help but wonder if this departure from the meatball has anything to do with the rebranding of the Space Force logo, which was more in the style of the meatball (and some suggested, Star Trek). Is NASA trying to distance itself from the Space Force?
On Twitter, people seemed pretty overjoyed at NASA's announcement, made by NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine.
Much as I appreciate the history and symbology of "the meatball" logo, "the worm" logo has always been "NASA" for me. Grew up in the very late '60's and through the '70's, so that makes sense, I suppose. Glad to see it making a comeback!April 2, 2020
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There were also a lot of gifs, some of them courtesy of NASA.
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Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can.
