This patch is one of a set of three that represent the different missions to Skylab, a U.S. space station that launched May 14, 1973. The second crew to live and work aboard Skylab were commander Alan Bean, science pilot Owen Garriott, and pilot Jack Lousma. According to NASA tradition, each space crew designs their own mission patch depicting the objectives or spirit of their mission. The symbolism chosen by the astronauts for this patch reflects the primary purposes of Skylab: to study human adaptation to spaceflight and to study the Earth and Sun from space. It shows an image based on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man superimposed on a globe that is half Earth and half Sun.

NASA’s operations dubbed the launch of the station itself as Skylab 1, designating each of the subsequent crewed flights as Skylabs 2-4. The mission insignia and patch designs also created by NASA, however, used different mission numbers, labeling the astronauts’ flights Skylab 1-3. In addition, Skylab souvenirs used both Roman and Arabic numbers: Skylabs I, II, and 3. These details make Skylab spaceflight emblems somewhat unique in the tradition of NASA mission patches.

Mance Clayton donated a set of Skylab patches to the Museum in 1982.