— Two celebrated NASA veterans who in their own ways were responsible for overseeing the health of the early U.S. space program have now each had their signature roles embroidered as limited-edition patches.

Dee O'Hara, the first nurse assigned to America's astronauts, and John Aaron, who as an engineer in Mission Control contributed life saving solutions, were selected by Space Hipsters on Facebook for their "Signature Edition" space patch series. The collectible emblems were revealed to the group's 65,000 members on Saturday (Sept. 20).

"In a break from previous editions, we have branched out to cover a couple of non-astronauts that we are unofficially referring to as 'NASA Legends' — John Aaron and Dee O'Hara," said Chris Spain, who has arranged for the production of the series since 2022. "Both patches were launched at the same time."

Previous releases have featured Apollo 13 pilot Fred Haise and space shuttle astronauts Hoot Gibson, Mike Mullane, John Herrington, Eileen Collins and Nicole Stott. Like those, the Aaron and O'Hara patches incorporate their autographs into the design and are offered on display cards with their authentic signature, hence the series' title ("Signature Edition").

O'Hara was assigned by the U.S. Air Force to support NASA's Mercury program in 1959 and became the first staff nurse to support the original astronauts. She was at the launch site to perform each of the astronauts' pre-flight physicals and set up a mobile clinic to support their checkouts after they splashed down from space.

O'Hara's health services extended to the astronauts' families and she continued in her role throughout the Gemini and Apollo programs, culminating in the first flight of the space shuttle in 1981.

"The O'Hara patch incorporates the rod of Asclepius, symbol of medicine, the Mercury Seven symbol, reflecting Dee's unique role in becoming the first nurse to the astronauts during the Mercury program, and the astronaut symbol," Spain said. "The border lists the missions on which assisted with the pre-flight physicals and post-flight exams, from Mercury through to the STS-1 mission."

Aaron became a member of Mission Control in 1964. Assigned to the EECOM (Electrical, Environmental and Communications/Consumables Manager) console, he was responsible for monitoring the systems that kept the spacecraft healthy for the length of the flights.

In addition to working out the power-up procedures for the Apollo 13 command module, Aaron is probably best known for averting an abort during the second launch of astronauts aimed at landing on the moon. His own familiarity with a rarely referenced system, led to him making a pivotal call after a sudden in-flight electrical failure.

"The Aaron patch celebrates his famous 'SCE to AUX' call during the launch of Apollo 12, with a depiction of the Saturn V being struck by lightning as it launches through a stormy sky," said Spain. "The overall color scheme of the patch follows that of the original Apollo 12 mission patch."

A-B Emblem, the exclusive supplier to NASA's astronaut office, produced the O'Hara and Aaron patches for Space Hipsters. For each, there is a limited edition of 100 "gold" patches — with the signature embroidered in metallic gold thread — mounted on numbered display cards authentically signed by Aaron or O'Hara and an open edition with the signature sewn in white thread without a display card.

There are also high-quality vinyl decals of both designs that are available as an add-on to patch orders.

As with the earlier patches in the series, the O'Hara and Aaron emblems are only available in return for donations to Taking Up Space, a non-profit organization that has created a 36-week science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curriculum and organizes trips for middle-school-age Native American girls to attend Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

"Gold" patches are offered for a donation of $60, or $100 for the pair of the O'Hara and Aaron emblems. The open edition patch is available for a $15 donation (or $25 for the pair) and the stickers are $3 each. Details on how to donate can be found on the Space Hipsters Facebook group.