A New NASA Logo

Does NASA need a new logo? The design firm Base thinks so. The agency "is doing super-cool, interesting, worthwhile things, and is completely undersold by its logo," the firm says. That would be this, known as the "meatball":

So what does the design firm suggest? That a new approach should "de-emphasize the name in the logo to create more of a symbol that would be universally understood." Like this:

Pretty cool, but if you asked me what message it sends, I'd say this: "An agency in eclipse." Not sure that's what NASA needs.

By the way, this wouldn't be the first time NASA experimented with a new logo. While the meatball dates back to the agency's creation in 1959, in 1975, the NASA switched to what officials thought would be a more contemporary look that emphasized the agency's name. It became known as the "worm":

In 1992, agency leaders decided they liked the classic look better, and they've stuck with the tried-and-true ever since.

Hat tip: Atlantic Wire