NASA uses Looney Toons characters on mission patches (my title)

Business Wire / Toonzone.net ^ | 6.2.03

[mhking]

 

Marvin The Martian and Daffy Duck (as Duck Dodgers) will appear on official patches that Warner Bros. has designed for two NASA Mars Exploration Rover Missions this summer.

The special patches will act as the defining logo for the mission and will be worn by TEAM DELTA crews, comprising members from NASA, the United States Air Force, and Boeing. They will be featured on mission control and launch pad crew suits, jackets, and mugs.

"Daffy Duck and Marvin The Martian struck us as such a perfect fit, capturing the fun and adventurous spirit of these important explorations, that we were delighted to be able to include them as honorary members of the team," said Captain David Krambeck of TEAM DELTA.

The Mars Exploration Rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. The mission will deploy rovers to the Martian surface, where they will perform on-site scientific investigations over the course of a 90-day mission.

Representatives from the Air Force working with Warner Bros. Consumer Products created the official patch designs for both the Mars-A and Mars-B missions, one patch featuring Marvin The Martian saluting the Mars Rover and the other, Daffy Duck as Duck Dodgers posed proudly with the American flag. The first launch is scheduled for June 8th, and the second launch will be slated for June 25th.

"It is exciting that our characters, which for so many years have been associated with space adventures in the animated world, should now have a chance to become part of a real and important space exploration," said Jordan Sollitto, executive vice president of worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "We are thrilled about teaming up with NASA on these exciting missions and are looking forward to giving our characters the opportunity to touch down upon the Red Planet."

[alnitak]

NASA has had a "naming competition" for the 2 rovers: the results are supposed to be announced this weekend. Off the top of my head, I came up with these - feel free to add more:

Lewis & Clark (as a Brit I don't even know who these guys were, apart from the fact they were American explorers, but they seem very famous on t'other side of the pond)

Daffy & Bugs (please!)

Stanley & Livingston

[JesseHousman]

Marvin The Martian and Daffy Duck (as Duck Dodgers)

Yep. It's NASA alright.

[JoeSchem]

Thre only interesting observation ever made by Maureen Dowd is the similarity of voice characteristics of Marvin the Martian and Alan Keyes.

Maureen the Martian to President Bush: "You are making me veeeery angry!"

[tracer]

Wait until they try to put the enemy of Teddy K. on a patch. Think "flag".....

[tracer]

"Enemy" should have been "image"...

[tracer]

But, then again, his image is his enemy.......

[tracer]

Perhaps Syria or Iran in the not-too-distant future.....

[newgeezer]

Lost & Found

(Okay, perhaps the latter is a bit too optimistic.)

[Moonman62]

NASA has completed its transformation into a joke.

[Constitution Day]

Rackin' Frackin' NASA!

[tlb]

One of the Doolittle Raider bombers had noseart of Daffy Duck on crutches with the airplane name " Ruptured Duck". I don't think that made the Army Air Force a joke, do you ?

The pilot went on to write " Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".

Comic character noseart is and old honored tradition. Lighten up.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Frumious Bandersnatch is from Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" A thoroughly nasty creature in the same class as the Jabberwocky.

Whatever you do, *don't* add water to those martian pills...

[Constitution Day]

A thoroughly nasty creature in the same class as the Jabberwocky.

Yes, Junior reminded me of that.

It's been years since I read it, but I cannot believe I forgot.
O Frabjous Day!

Thanks for the warning on the Martian pills. *g*
BTW, I have a 3-year-old daughter and our Saturday morning ritual is watching Looney Tunes together.

FRegards,
CD

[jriemer]

Martin wanted to blow up the earth because it blocked his view of Venus.

[jriemer]

Been there, done that...

[Cincinatus]

The backup crew (Gene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Joe Engle) for the Apollo 14 mission had this patch made up:

CDR Al Shepard was not amused...

[Moonman62]

Comic character noseart is and old honored tradition. Lighten up.

True, but considering NASA's many problems, it's the wrong thing to do.