The Artwork

(Sept. 1998) --- The STS-93 mission patch, as designed by the five crew members. The STS-93 mission will carry the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) into low Earth orbit initiating its planned five-year astronomy mission. AXAF is the third of NASA's great observatories, following the Hubble Space Telescope and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. AXAF will provide scientists an order-of-magnitude improvement over current capabilities at X-ray wavelengths. Observations of X-ray emissions from energetic galaxies and clusters, as well as black holes, promise to greatly expand current understanding of the origin and evolution of our universe. The STS-93 patch depicts AXAF separating from the Space Shuttle Columbia after a successful deployment. A spiral galaxy is shown in the background as a possible target for AXAF observations. The two flags represent the international crew, consisting of astronauts from both the United States and France.