posted 05-25-2017 12:00 AM               

NASA re-embraces the 'worm,' its retro cool retired logo, for new merchandise

The "worm" is back in at NASA — sort of.

Twenty-five years after the space agency unceremoniously retired the worm, its simple but iconic logotype, in favor of returning to its original 1958 graphic insignia, the retro logo has fallen back into NASA's good graces, at least when it comes to its use on merchandise.

The agency quietly started approving designers' requests in 2016, but it was not until last month that it amended its published merchandising regulations to include the worm. Before then, NASA restricted products to using its first and current insignia, dubbed the "meatball" for its ball shape.