NASA has revealed the official logo for its Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), which is planned for launch next year in 2019.

Forming part of the U.S. government’s plans to send humans back to the moon, EM-1 is effectively an unmanned flight test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

Orion is scheduled to spend nearly three weeks in space, including six days in a retrograde orbit around the Moon. It is planned to be followed by Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2) sometime in 2022 or 2023.

The newly-unveiled logo design, meanwhile, features the SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft and lifting off from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The triangular shape is said to represent the three main programs that comprise NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems: Orion, SLS, and Exploration Ground Systems, and is a classic shape for NASA mission emblems dating back to the shuttle era.

“Several elements within the design carry symbolic meaning for this historic flight,” says NASA. “The silver highlight surrounding this patch gives nod to the silver Orion spacecraft, including the European service module that will be voyaging 40,000 miles past the Moon in deep space. The orange rocket and flames represent the firepower of SLS. The setting is historic Launch Pad 39B, represented by the three lightning towers. The red and blue mission trajectories encompassing the white full Moon proudly emphasises the hard work, tradition, and dedication of this American led-mission”.

The emblem has been designed in collaboration by the creative team working for the Deep Space Exploration Systems programs, which includes Orion, SLS, and Exploration Ground Systems, located at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Kennedy.

Source: NASA