Following tradition, the Apollo 11 crew was given the task of designing its mission patch. Apollo 11 was, and still is, one of t
he most publicly recognized NASA missions ever. The eyes of the world were on Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The Apollo 11 patch not only needed to be a symbol for the mission, it had to convey the intentions of America and the hopes of NASA. With this daunting task in front of them, the astronauts set forth to create a design. After some discussion, the crew decided to keep their names off the patch. Michael Collins explains: "We wanted to keep our three names off it because we wanted the design to be representative of everyone who had worked toward a lunar landing, and there were thousands who could take a proprietary interest in it, yet who would never see their names woven into the fabric of a patch. Further, we wanted the design to be symbolic rather than explicit."
Like the decision to keep the crew names off the patch, the choice to use the Arabic numerals "11" instead of "XI" or even "eleven" was purposeful. Neil Armstrong disliked spelling out "eleven," because it wouldn't be easily understandable to foreigners, so the crew decided on "11."
Fellow astronaut Jim Lovell suggested they use an eagle, the national bird of the United States, as the focus of the patch. Running with that proposal, Michael Collins found a picture of an eagle in a book about birds and traced it. He then sketched in a field of craters beneath the eagle's claws and the earth behind its wings.
The crew felt the patch didn't quite tell the right story. Tom Wilson, the Apollo 11 simulator instructor, suggested they add an olive branch as a symbol of the peaceful expedition. The crew was delighted with that notion and Collins quickly modified the sketch to have the eagle carrying the olive branch in its beak.
After making a few detail-oriented decisions, the patch was submitted for approval. However, the initial patch design was rejected. Bob Gilruth, the director of the then-named Manned Spacecraft Center, saw the eagle landing with its talons extended as too hostile and warlike. So, the olive branch was transferred from the eagle's mouth to his talons and the patch design was complete.
How does the last paragraph contribute to the development of ideas in the passage?
A.
It clarifies the idea that the purpose of the space program is to advance science, not develop weapons.
B.
It reiterates that the Apollo 11 lunar landing is one of the most recognized NASA missions in history.
C.
It introduces the idea that professional artists should design the patches, not the crew members.
D.
It implies that the crew wanted to use the eagle because they all came from military backgrounds.
