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  NASA pre-Apollo lunar probe official patches?

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Author Topic:   NASA pre-Apollo lunar probe official patches?
dtemple
Member

Posts: 810
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 10-01-2025 08:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dtemple   Click Here to Email dtemple     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Were any patches made for the Lunar Orbiter, Mariner, Ranger, and/or Surveyor projects at the time of the programs? I am asking about official patches, not any post-program patches.

Are the first two patches (Venus probe and Mars probe) shown here official?

Jim Behling
Member

Posts: 2012
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 10-02-2025 09:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There are dates on those patches, so not official. It wasn't until the late 60's/ early 70's that patches started being used for unmanned launches (NASA and DOD).

dtemple
Member

Posts: 810
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 10-02-2025 05:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dtemple   Click Here to Email dtemple     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, the dates reveal these two patches were not official at the time the mission was being planned, the spacecraft built, etc. Still, the patches could have been authorized soon after the flybys. I do not believe that happened, though, but wanted to try to establish the belief as fact.

What prompted the question about program patches for the pre-Apollo lunar and planetary missions was a Tiros patch that was among the items available for bids in the recent Lunar Legacies auction. I had not ever seen that patch and know nothing of its origin. Presumably, it was an official, period patch rather than a commemorative after-the-fact production.

I suppose the Tiros patch could have been a bonus in a cereal box as could the Venus and Mars probe patches.

Jim Behling
Member

Posts: 2012
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 10-02-2025 08:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dtemple:
Still, the patches could have been authorized soon after the flybys.
Nah, it would have said Mariner on them.

dtemple
Member

Posts: 810
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 10-03-2025 03:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dtemple   Click Here to Email dtemple     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Behling:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by dtemple:
[b]Still, the patches could have been authorized soon after the flybys.
Nah, it would have said Mariner on them.[/B][/QUOTE]

Good point.

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