The girl who drew the patch design is just 12 years old

Jan 5, 2009 09:03 GMT  ·  By
The original drawing, which served as a base for the next Soyuz mission crew patch
2 photos
   The original drawing, which served as a base for the next Soyuz mission crew patch

On Monday, the international contest whose goal was to find a suitable emblem for the Soyuz TMA-14 spaceflight mission patch ended, with 12-year-old Anna Chibiskova from Moscow as the winner. Her drawing, depicting two hands holding the Earth against a colorful background, will be worn by all three crew members of the mission, which will take off in March 2009. Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka said that children from some 10 countries submitted more than 150 drawings for consideration, out of which Chibiskova's was the best.

"Thank you for your attention to the creation of our logo. We managed to see the best of more than 150 drawings, each of which is worthy of victory," said Padalka at the ceremony. The Federal Space Agency of Russia, Roscosmos, was the main organizer of this contest, alongside space agencies from most countries that participated, including NASA.

In the selection of the best drawing, Padalka collaborated with US astronaut Michael Barrett, and even selected the runner-up and third place winners. "It is unfortunate that the winners in this contest could be only three. We would have been happy to have chosen a number," the Russian astronaut said.

Twelve-year-old Kaitlin Riley from New York won second place, with her star-shaped design, depicting the Earth and the Soyuz rocket on the blackness of space. Stanislav Pyatkin, an 11-year-old boy from Uglegorsk, the town where a new spaceport is to be built, won third place, with a picture of the three cosmonauts holding their hands raised, against a background depicting their rocket.

”I am pleased that among the winners is a girl from the USA and the boy from Uglegorsk where the Vostochny spaceport will be built,” added Roscosmos director Anatoly Perminov. The official said that the fourth place winner, a young boy from Kazakhstan, should also be honored, as “it is clear that in the near future, all manned launches will take place from Baikonur, Kazakhstan is our reliable partner in the space program.”

Photo Gallery (2 Images)

The original drawing, which served as a base for the next Soyuz mission crew patch
The final version of the patch
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