Spaceflight Mission Patch Bonus Assignment and Competition

Mission Patches have been part of human spaceflight since the days of Project Mercury in the 1960s. Be part of this tradition by participating in the University of Maryland Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 12 to the International Space Station (ISS).

In this extra credit assignment, you will design a Mission Patch that reflects the identity of Maryland in the context of the SSEP program: An undergrad educational program where students come up with science experiments that fly to the ISS. More info on SSEP here: http://ssep.ncesse.org/about-ssep/

Your submitted design will also enter a University System of Maryland-wide patch design competition. If selected as finalist, your patch will fly to the ISS for 4-6 weeks along with the experiment and return to you embossed with a certificate that it flew in space.

Guidelines
Design a patch that reflects the following concepts:

• Purpose of the mission: To fly a student-designed science experiment to the International Space Station, exploring the effect of microgravity. Examples of previous experiments are here (go to Selected Experiments).
• Identity of the state of Maryland (colors, flag, state bird, state flower, etc.).
• The SSEP program: Familiarize yourself with the SSEP here and see previous SSEP Mission patches here.
• Historical consistency: Mission Patch design does not have to follow historical space mission designs, but this is a good source of inspiration (http://history.nasa.gov/mission_patches.html)

You also have the option to exchange design ideas with the student scientists involved in the experiment competition, similar to the client-designer relationship of the professional design industry. Contact <dsvolpe@umd.edu> if you want to engage in this type of collaboration.

The patch should fit within a 3.5-inch by 3.5-inch paper when printed for flight to ISS.

Submission Materials
- 1 PDF file (CMYK and 300dpi with 3.5inx3.5in dimensions) of your Mission Patch
- 1 to 2 paragraphs explaining the rationale behind your submitted design (e.g.: what are the reasons behind your design choices, both graphically and conceptually?), as a Word document or in the body of you submission email

Important dates

November 13-14 - Informal critique. Participating students are required to show the work in progress.

November 29-30 Completed work due in class.
Submit your patch and design rationale to professor Nare Ratnapala.

March 2018  – One finalist Mission Patch will be announced.
Spring 2018 – Mission Patch will fly to ISS.
Summer 2018 – Mission Patch will return to finalist.

Extra Credit
Your design will be scored based on this rubric.