NASA has a better grasp of design than any other government agency. The U.S. space agency has several teams devoted solely to data visualization and graphics , and its materials have a consistent design language that’s pretty much the best compared with any other arm of federal bureaucracy.

Part of the way NASA maintains such a consistent design language throughout its many branches and projects is through exacting, standardized rules for how and when its branding can be deployed, and how its promotional materials should be presented. The regulation NASA style is laid out in an official guide, a version of which can be found here. (This PDF doesn’t have a date on it, but it’s at least a few years old–it’s signed by David Mould, who resigned as NASA’s Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs in 2009.)

Here are just a few ways NASA keeps its public communications materials beautiful:

1. Use The Meatball

The NASA insignia, the familiar red, white, and blue circular logo, is the only acceptable insignia for communications material that reaches the general public. Though individual projects have their own logos, the agency wants to ensure its primary brand remains the most recognizable to the public, its personal agency brand remaining by a confusing array of other, lesser insignia. Designed in 1959, its nickname–officially sanctioned by the style guide–is “the meatball.” Despite unofficial proposals for more 21st-century designs, the agency doesn’t stray from tradition. “It is our prime brand identifier, reflecting the history and tradition of the agency,” according to the guide.

2. Seriously, Don’t Mess With The Meatball

There are very specific guidelines for how small the insignia can be, and how much white space must surround it. The white border around the circular insignia must be at least as wide as the N in the NASA logo is tall. The smallest size it can be reproduced at is 5/8 of an inch tall, and its colors are very specific: Pantone 185 red and Pantone 286 blue. Elements or colors cannot be added, it can’t be blurred, reversed, or distorted, or–god forbid–glowing. It should never be placed in a busy area of an image (duh) or placed partially behind another image in a visualization. In a one-color version of the insignia (used on light-colored backgrounds), the vector gradient–the difference in color in the swoosh that runs through the letters in NASA–must be clearly visible. There are even rules for where exactly it can be placed on a government vehicle, planes included (toward the back of the vehicle, flush with the lettering of the name of the agency on the door).

3. Deploy The Official Font Of Space Exploration

Helvetica, Helvetica, Helvetica. NASA knows better than to let its designers run wild with crazy Word art, unlike some other government agencies. All headlines, subheads, and call-outs in visual materials should be in the king of san serifs. In a pinch, Garamond can be used for body text, and if Helvetica isn’t available, Arial is acceptable. And put down the drop shadow: under no circumstances can a typeface be three-dimensional.

However, NASA’s willing to bend the rules for its kid-friendly educational materials, where Comic Sans–that most maligned font–is okay, as are various other approachable, whimsical fonts like Smile, Typewriter, and Kidprint.