North Korea's Space Agency Named 'NADA', Emblem Resembles NASA's Logo

The North Korean space program was recently named the National Aerospace Development Administration with the hilarious acronym NADA. The agency's new blue, circular emblem resembles the blue and white logo of NASA.

North Korean (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK) officials recently unveiled a new name and logo for the country's space program to mark the agency's one-year anniversary.

The Internet was quick to find the resemblance between logos of NADA and NASA. Commentators on several news sites also came up with witty responses to the acronym NADA, which means "nothing" in Spanish.

North Korea has named its space agency "NADA." That logo looks familiar, too https://t.co/ADi2CrcVYj pic.twitter.com/R7GHezfvKV

— CNET (@CNET) April 2, 2014

One reader on CBS news posted," Well, it's better than having their agency named the Korean Republic Aeronautical Program," while another wrote "NADA chance in hell."

According to The Korean Central News Agency, the emblem of NADA depicts "its character, mission, position and development prospects."

The logo represents a globe with light blue rings, which symbolize satellites around earth. The acronym NADA is written in white colored letters across the logo along with "Kukgaujugaebalkuk" (National Aerospace Development Administration. The upper portion of the logo has seven stars in the shape of The Big Dipper or "The Great Bear." The press release from the news agency doesn't mention the resemblance between NADA and NASA logos.

"The Great Bear reflects the will of the space scientists of the DPRK to glorify Kim Il Sung's and Kim Jong Il's Korea as a space power," the press release reads.

In December 2012, North Korea launched a washing-machine sized satellite into space. The probe failed to remain in orbit, but it helped the DPRK join the list of nations that had successfully launched satellites, space.com reported. The launch was criticized by the U.S and the United Nations.

In the recent press release, DPRK says that it rejects "the application of selectivity and double-standards in space activities and the weaponization of outer space."

Check logos of other space agencies here.