Who designed the Apollo 11 mission emblem?

Michael Collins designed the Apollo 11 mission emblem. The command module pilot developed the basic concept for a symbol representing a peaceful lunar landing by the United States.

Collins suggested an eagle, and fellow astronaut Jim Lovell proposed using the bald eagle as the central image. A simulator instructor, Tom Wilson, suggested placing an olive branch in the eagle’s beak to emphasize the mission’s peaceful purpose. Collins added the lunar surface, the Moon, and Earth in the background.

The crew chose not to put their names on the patch. They wanted it to represent the thousands of people who had contributed to the mission rather than only the three astronauts. The design also carried a small imperfection: the sunlight and Earth’s shadow were depicted from the wrong direction. The eagle motif later influenced the naming of the lunar module Eagle.