Mission Insignia
The STS-129 mission patch was designed by Tim Gagnon and Dr. Jorge Cartes. The rather unique shape of the patch resulted from the crew's desire for the patch to signify the mission's payload (two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers) providing equipment ensuring the longevity of the ISS.
The insignia incorporates a number of design elements not typically incorporated into a single patch: the Sun, Moon, Mars, NASA's astronaut symbol (ascending on red, white and blue stripes symbolizing the all-U.S. crew), the ISS, the Shuttle orbiter and the continental United States (representing the major U.S. centers supporting the Space Shuttle Program).
The 13 stars on the patch represent the crewmembers' children, and the moon and Mars represent the future of space exploration. The names of the crew members are denoted on the outer band of the patch.
Read more about this topic: STS-129
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“Man is eminently a storyteller. His search for a purpose, a cause, an ideal, a mission and the like is largely a search for a plot and a pattern in the development of his life story—a story that is basically without meaning or pattern.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)