iriss logo

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s patch for his 10-day mission to the International Space Station in 2015. His iriss mission has two patches, one to highlight the mission overall and one for the educational programme.

A competition in Andreas’ home country of Denmark attracted 500 entrants, with two designs chosen by an expert jury to represent iriss and Andreas.

The winner for this mission logo, Poul Rasmussen, was inspired by the Greek goddess Iris, who is often depicted with wings. The wings in the design also represent a Viking ship as used to explore the world and seek unknown horizons.

The iriss name is written in two colours to highlight that Andreas is leaving Earth for the International Space Station, or ISS. Stars and planets appear above the name in stylised orbits.