Skylab 3 Mission Patch

Skylab 3 Mission Patch

This Skylab 3 mission patch is based on a design by Barbara Matelski from the Johnson Space Center Graphics Department. Matelski worked up a concept that Skylab astronauts Gerald Carr, Bill Pogue, and Ed Gibson had come up with themselves.

The patch shows a tree, a hydrogen atom, and a human surrounded by a rainbow and a number three. The tree represents the natural environment and refers to the mission's objective to advance the study of Earth's resources. The hydrogen atom represents the Sun - made mostly of hydrogen - which was a key focus of the Skylab missions. The hydrogen atom also represents being the building block of the universe and how humans have explored the physical world and developed technology. The human figure represents humanity and its ability to use technology with a wisdom built from a concern for the natural environment. It also represents the medical experiments the mission would undertake. Finally, the rainbow is used to represent the Biblical story of the Flood and the rainbow that appears to Noah afterwards. The rainbow connects to the tree and the hydrogen atom to show human's pivotal role in bringing together technology and nature through our use of scientific knowledge.

This patch design also features the comet Kohoutek at the top, which the Skylab 3 mission studied from space. This is a feature that only appears on patches made by the company Lion Brothers, marking this patch out as rarer than the AB Emblems Skylab 3 patch design - another company that made patches for NASA missions. This particular patch was part of a collection of patches acquired by British-born professor of endocrine and metabolic surgery Anthony Goode, during his years working with NASA’s Life Sciences Division.