Special patch feature to honour Artemis II mission revealed

Each of Nasa's shuttle missions come with their very own mission patches, and Artemis II is no different.

They tell the story of the mission with their designs and feature the names of the astronauts.

But the one created for Artemis II has a unique feature that hasn't been seen on a patch before. It's double-sided!

Now the crew have travelled around the Moon, they've flipped their patches over to reveal the other side...

The unique double-sided design was revealed during Nasa's live stream of the crew's lunar flyby.

Leah Cheshier Mustachio, back on Earth at Nasa communications, said:

"A very special moment here in Mission Control.

"Ahead of the flight to Kennedy Space Centre and during their last simulations here, [the crew] visited the mission control team and brought us each a patch.

"On one side of the patch which you've probably seen is the Moon with the Earth behind it.

"Now that we've passed behind the Moon and we are returning home, the flight control team has instructed everyone in the room to switch their patch around so that the Earth is closer and the Moon is behind us."

The tradition of a mission patch dates back to the 1960s.

Each and every one is different, telling the story of the different shuttle missions.

The astronauts help to design the emblem and wear them on their space suits on their mission.

The artist for Artemis II's patch, Gregory Manchess, said they decided on depicting the 'two' in roman numerals so it looked like it said 'all'.

He said it "reminds us that they are indeed doing this for the benefit of everyone on our home planet."

If you could design your own badge to go into space with, what would it have on it? Let us know in the comments below!