Inside the emblem is a polar bear standing on all fours. (The polar bear is a reference to the cold climate of polar regions, thus also to the cold of the superfluid helium.) Above and to the right of the polar bear are the stars of the Big Dipper, part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. You could consider Ursa Major, the Great Bear, to be a polar bear, because that constellation is near to the celestial North Pole. The stars also remind us that SHOOT took place in space. As a further reminder, we also see the Space Shuttle, with its payload bay doors open, as they are in orbit. Above the Shuttle is the old NASA logo, the so-called "NASA worm", with the smooth, stylized letters spelling "NASA". Return