The meatball is timeless. Maybe you can do better, but you could also do a lot worse than to keep it.
The worm logo, which is NOT 80s, but rather 70s, definitely looks like something you'd see on the set of the original Battlestar Galactica. I didn't know it was considered art deco, as art deco was really a popular style in the 20s-50s. I am just old enough to remember the 1976 US Bicentennial celebrations, and the "official" logo, which has a lot in common with the NASA worm. So this was definitely a 70s thing.
In any effort to dream up a new logo it's important to remember that what you're making should be able to last. The worm logo was kind of cool, but it was definitely born of what was trendy at the moment, which is why by the mid-80s it was already wearing thin.
Something else I think is important is that changing your logo every 10 years is a stupid idea. It gives the impression that the institution itself can't figure out its own identity (which is unfortunately a bit close to home for this agency). They strayed from the original and then went back to it for a good reason.
---------- Post added 10-11-14 at 07:47 PM ---------- Previous post was 10-10-14 at 10:15 PM ----------
Since I brought up the subject of 70s styles, I'd like to mention as another example the logo of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, which I was a huge fan of growing up.
This is their current logo, a much more "classic"-looking logo, reminiscent of the logo from the 40s:
Current:
1948:
And this was the Phillies' logo from the 1970s-80s. People like me still like it, but only because we grew up with it. Also, hipsters may think it's cool...