Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission, with the first all-private crew to ever visit the International Space Station (ISS), ushers in a new era of accessibility, commercialization, and increased science on the orbiting laboratory. The Ax-1 mission patch incorporates these components as the core elements of the crew's insignia and defines a watershed moment in human space exploration.
At the heart of the patch is the venerable ISS itself, the core of this pioneering private research mission, reflecting Ax-1’s role as a precursor for future activity in low-Earth orbit and a key step toward the ISS’s commercial successor – Axiom Station. The flags of four countries adorn the ISS in the form of its solar arrays, representing this multinational crew and reinforcing the importance of international collaboration in exploration. A cascading plane of blue represents Earth's atmosphere, and the journey humanity has traveled to arrive in this new era, among the first steps in expanding the human presence in low-Earth Orbit.
Four bright stars – one for each crew member and an atom at the center of the constellation – represent the expedition's scientific and aspirational goals. The last name of each crew member, Commander Michael López-Alegría of the USA & Spain, Pilot Larry Connor of the USA, Mission Specialist Mark Pathy of Canada, and Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe of Israel, adorn the top of the design. The bottom highlights the Earth overflown while the mission’s historic significance is spelled out in "First Private Crew to the ISS” and MMXXII marks the year.
A golden border inspired by the logo of ‘Rakia,’ the mission’s name in Stibbe’s home country, marks the significance of this mission to the people of Israel.
Source: Axiom Space
