What the sources say
NASA's brand guidelines credit the worm logotype to Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn in 1975 (Print dates the design to 1974) and say it was NASA's official logo from 1976 to 1992. The agency's Graphics Standards Manual (NHB 1430.2) describes the letters N-A-S-A as reduced to their simplest form, with strokes of one width and no cross-strokes on the two A's. The manual says the logotype must not be redrawn and must be reproduced from the supplied artwork, which is why there is no official worm font.
Evidence for this attribution ↓No paid font selected
Free alternatives
Compare the actual letterforms with the same text. These are editorial alternatives, not fonts attributed to NASA.
Free alternative
Inter
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Regular · Latin specimen
A neutral grotesque in the same family of styles as Helvetica, and the face NASA's own website uses for headings. It is drawn for screens, so it looks a little more open.
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Arimo
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Regular · Latin specimen
Built to match Arial's widths, and Arial is widely used as a stand-in for Helvetica. Fine for text in a NASA-style layout, though up close the letter details are not Helvetica's.
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Orbitron
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Regular · Latin specimen
A geometric display face with even strokes that gives a space-age mood. Its letters are squarer than the worm's rounded forms, so it is a mood match, not a look-alike.
View fontHelvetica and the other text faces
The same manual calls Helvetica the most important type family in NASA's visual system. Helvetica Light sits next to the logotype for the agency name, and Helvetica Medium is used for centre names and headings. The manual's index also lists Futura, Garamond and Times Roman as text faces. Richard Danne told Print magazine he chose Helvetica because it blended well with the worm.
Evidence for this attribution ↓What NASA uses today
The worm was dropped in 1992 when NASA went back to the round 'meatball' insignia, and Print reports it was brought back in April 2020. NASA's current brand guidelines treat the meatball as the official identifier and the worm as a supplemental mark for large, bold uses. For print they recommend Helvetica and Garamond; the website uses Inter for headings, Public Sans for body text and DM Mono for numbers and labels.
Evidence for this attribution ↓How to get the look
You cannot type the worm, so for a NASA-style layout pair a clean Helvetica-like sans with bold red accents and lots of space. Inter or Arimo work well for text and headings. For a 1970s space-age title, a geometric, even-stroke display face like Orbitron gives the mood, but do not copy the worm itself: NASA restricts its use. Set the agency name in a light weight and the headings in a medium weight, as the manual does with Helvetica.
Common questions
Is the NASA worm logo a font?
No. It is drawn lettering by Danne & Blackburn, and NASA's manual says it must be reproduced from official artwork, never redrawn or typed.
What font does the NASA website use?
NASA's brand guidelines list Inter for headings, Public Sans for body text and DM Mono for numbers and small labels.
Does NASA still use Helvetica?
Yes. NASA's current brand guidelines recommend Helvetica and Garamond for print, and require Helvetica in the NASA identifier configuration.
Sources & evidence
Editorial review completed November 10, 2026.
- NASA — Brand guidelines
Official docs
- NASA — Graphics Standards Manual, NHB 1430.2 (PDF)
Official docs
- Print — The inside story of NASA's 'worm' logo
Design publication
- National Space Society — Worm Farm: the logo that divided NASA, 1974–1976
History article