With two high-tech rovers on Mars, two missions en route to Jupiter’s moons, and a helicopter headed for Saturn’s moon Titan in 2028, public excitement around deep space exploration is on the rise. At the same time, the internet has made decades of mission data widely accessible. Around the world, amateur imagers are using modern tools to reprocess old datasets—offering fresh views of distant worlds, all from right here on Earth.
Each of these missions represents the best of what human intellect can achieve—and for many, they also carry a strong sense of nostalgia. Voyager was a defining part of the ’80s, with its grand tour of the outer planets and its tie-in to Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. In the ’90s, Galileo gave us a dramatic look at Jupiter and its moons. Then in the 2000s, Cassini arrived at Saturn, and two remarkably durable rovers landed on Mars.
We’re proposing a series of enameled pins based on five historic robotic spacecraft, inspired by posters we created in 2014–15. The featured missions were selected through a poll conducted by The Planetary Society, with the top five results being:
The Voyager Program
Cassini / Huygens
Mars Science Lab (Curiosity & Perseverance)
Sputnik
New Horizons
Galileo
If you want to see the poll results for how New Horizons was chosen for pin #5, see here.
As of now, only the *Voyager* enamel pin has been produced. While the rest of the missions already exist as part of our original poster series, they’ve not yet been translated into enamel pins—but they’re ready to go.
The pins are hard enamel with silver line work (structure). While each pin’s measurements vary slightly due to shape, they’re designed to appear uniform, around 2" each in size as a set.
Image of Voyager, the only pin actually produced so far
Pins in this campaign are 15% off, when funded and produced they will sell at retail prices. So a mission pin will be $10 while the 3.5" round stickers are $4.
They’re also fairly large and have some weight to them, so each will include a double clasp back for extra security, as shown below.
Based on the poll results… we added some stretch goals for Galielo and Rosetta/Philae to be the 6th and 7th pins at 4.5K and 6K raised. So far, Galileo has been unlocked! See the rewards and add-ons for final art.
The art shown here is from the sticker series (also available as add-ons). If we hit our goals, these designs will be adapted into enamel pins. Personally, I was hoping to include Rosetta—not just because it’s my favorite of the poster designs, but also to represent the EU in the set.
Week Two of Funding (mid-April): We’ll share the results of the poll and soon after reveal the final design for the selected mission.
Funded!: As soon as the project reaches its funding goal, we’ll order printed samples—these prototypes will help us finalize each design for mass production.
Campaign End (early May): Once the campaign ends, backer surveys will go out
Surveys (early May): After a few days of collecting your responses, we’ll place the full production order. We expect manufacturing to take about a month.
Shipping (early June) Once everything arrives at our studio, we’ll begin shipping to all backers who have completed their surveys.
Please be aware that shipping is collected at the time of the survey and is not included in the reward level. For an idea of what that should look like:
Shipping rates are by region. EU and UK includes VAT.
One of my U.S. producers works with an alliance of suppliers that has helped them avoid raising prices due to tariffs. Their rate is a little higher than what I usually pay, but it’s still within range and won’t require raising prices for backers. They didn’t produce the Voyager pin shown in this campaign—which is most similar to the new series—but I’ve worked with them before and their pins have been excellent.
One difference: our Chinese producers always provided samples for approval, while the U.S. supplier does not. So there’s a little more risk, but based on past work, I’m confident they’ll deliver great quality.
We will accept returns for refunds. Often you can write RTS (US only) and drop it back to us in a US postbox to avoid shipping fees. Our envelopes are re-sealable.
For any flaws or damaged pins, simply provide image evidence of the damage and we will send out a replacement. In many cases, you will not be required to return the item.
