The 'Ad Inexplorata' motto, which means "Toward the Unexplored" in Latin, signifies the mission of Edwards Air Force Base and the Air Force Flight Test Center. The patch's design, an aerodynamic shape with blue shock waves over a desert landscape separated from outer space by clouds, symbolizes the ongoing flight testing and research into the unknown, bridging the past, present, and future of aerospace and aviation. The shield of the Air Force Flight Test Center concisely defines its past, present and future. The center was established in 1951, and its shield was approved May 14, 1953. The ultramarine blue and yellow represent Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force people. The location of the organization is represented by the silver tan color and saguaro cacti of the Mojave Desert. The bend nebule, or wavy line, signifies cloud layers between the desert and the black unknown of outer space. The yellow aerodynamic shape with blue shock waves is symbolic of flight testing and air research and development activity, which is the mission of the center. Below the shield, the Latin words "Ad Inexplorata" meaning "Toward the Unexplored" is the center's motto. The emblem and motto have remained unchanged for 55 years.
