What branch does the Apollo 11 insignia eagle hold?

What branch does the Apollo 11 insignia eagle hold? It holds an olive branch.

The eagle on Apollo 11’s mission insignia holds an olive branch, a traditional symbol of peace. Its inclusion reflected the crew’s intention to portray the first lunar landing as a peaceful mission carried out on behalf of all people, rather than as a military victory.

The emblem was developed with input from astronaut Michael Collins and other members of the Apollo 11 crew. In the earliest concept, the eagle carried the branch in its beak. NASA officials thought the eagle’s talons looked too aggressive, however, so the branch was moved to the talons during the design’s revision.

The emblem also shows the Moon and Earth, with a blue-and-gold border and no astronaut names. The crew deliberately wanted the patch to represent the thousands of people who made the mission possible. The lunar module was named Eagle because the bird was the dominant symbol on the insignia. The design later influenced American coin imagery, especially the Eisenhower dollar.