Astronaut Steve Swanson, who is currently serving as commander of the ISS, designed original artwork for the Expedition 40 crew patch which pays homage to Star Trek.

"Steve grew up watching 'Star Trek,'" his wife Mary told collectspace.com.

"We watched reruns early in our marriage. We watched 'Next Generation' pretty religiously. So, yeah, he is somewhat of a fan."

[He] collaborated with his daughter to create an insignia for the outpost's Expedition 40 crew. What he and his fellow astronauts and cosmonauts ultimately launched with to the space station was a patch depicting the "past, present, and future of human space exploration." What Swanson had first proposed however, was a badge of a decidedly different type. "He wanted something that was kind of badass," revealed Mary Swanson, Steve's wife, in a call with collectSPACE, "and Klingons are kind of badass."

[collectspace.com]