Artist-supplied caption:
Inscribed on the outside of the patch "The journey continues".
This patch depicts the space shuttle rising above the Earth outlining the journey ahead. Against the background of the Earth are the Moon and Mars. Each symbolizes the future vision for human space exploration.
The stars represent those that have paved the road and we have lost along the way. The 3 stars represent Apollo 1, the 7 stars represent both the Challenger and Columbia. The single star on the Moon represents on efforts with the Apollo program.