BILLUND, Denmark, May 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — To mark the 50^th anniversary of an historical event that captivated the world, the LEGO Group today announced LEGO® CREATOR™ Expert NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, a 1,087 piece building set developed in cooperation with NASA, to commemorate the Eagle lunar module which completed humanity’s first successful moon landing. The set will be exclusively available at LEGO Stores and shop.LEGO.com beginning June 1. Additionally, the company unveiled seven new LEGO CITY Mars Exploration sets inspired by NASA’s recently announced ambitions around the next frontier – to return to the Moon and ultimately send astronauts to Mars. LEGO Group will also host hands-on space-themed activations and programming around the world beginning in June.

“We have a deep understanding of the ways in which play can have lifelong impact, and we have been champions of the awe and wonder of space exploration through playful building for almost as long as the world’s celebration of the first moon landing,” said Michael McNally, senior director, brand relations, LEGO Systems, Inc. “There are countless stories of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and roboticists who point to their experiences with LEGO building as the reason they are engaged in their current careers. We hope that our ongoing commitment to space-themed play materials will inspire future generations to help us continue exploring.”

It’s a perfect time to build upon today’s childrens’ curiosity about space, according to a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LEGO Group among parents regarding childrens’ interest in space exploration¹. Among U.S. parents with a child ages five to 12, 75% say they have a child interested in space exploration. Seventy-nine percent of parents in the UK say they have a child interested in space exploration, and 93% of parents in China agree.

Historic Moment Commemorated in Exclusive LEGO Replica Model

The collectible LEGO CREATOR Expert NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander model is rich with details true to the Eagle lunar lander, including separate ascent and descent stages. The descent stage features gold-colored landing pads and panels, opening camera and laser hatches and a ladder, while the ascent stage has a detailed interior. Builders can recreate the first steps on the moon with two astronaut minifigures featuring NASA decoration and golden helmets, plus a depiction of the lunar surface, complete with crater, moon footprints and a United States flag. A celebration of human accomplishment, the building set includes an Apollo 11 Lunar Lander nameplate for display purposes. The set will be available for $99.99 (USD)/$139.99 (CAD).

LEGO CITY Mars Exploration Sets Depict NASA’s Future Ambition

In addition to celebrating the history of space exploration, the LEGO Group aims to playfully engage the space explorers of tomorrow with seven new LEGO CITY Mars Exploration building sets inspired by NASA’s future missions to explore the Moon and Mars.

To ensure that the sets reflect many technical details of the rockets, rovers and equipment that NASA may someday use to send humans to Mars, LEGO designers met frequently with the space agency during development. During visits to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, designers adjusted product design to more closely mirror real-world counterparts. For example, learning about the importance of protecting against contamination to increase mission success prompted designers to add face masks for the engineer minifigures. The team also redesigned white LEGO rockets to a burnt orange color based on the actual materials NASA intends to use; in the past, rockets may have been left white for aesthetic reasons, but the extra coat of paint adds weight. The collection will be available globally on June 1 and in North America beginning June 23, including:

• 60224 Satellite Service Mission [$9.99 USD/$13.99 CAD]– build a shuttle with opening minifigure cockpit, plus a satellite with opening solar panels
• 60225 Rover Testing Drive [$29.99 USD/$39.99 CAD] – explore the Mars Rover and accompanying equipment including laptop, video camera, remote control and rock drill
• 60230 People Pack – Space Research and Development [$39.99 USD/$49.99 CAD] – celebrate all the professions that make space exploration possible with 14 minifigures including astronauts, a botanist, a personal trainer, a drone engineer and more
• 60226 Mars Research Shuttle [$39.99 USD/$49.99 CAD] – blast to Mars and recover geodes, load them into a storage drone and send to the shuttle’s cargo bay
• 60227 Lunar Space Station [$59.99 USD/$79.99 CAD] – features three detachable, modular compartments that recreate life at a space station with kitchen, living area and research lab
• 60228 Deep Space Rocket and Launch Control [$99.99 USD/$139.99 CAD] – send astronauts via monorail to the multi-stage Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and prepare for launch by adding a mobile device and companion LEGO CITY Explorers app to simulate an interactive control panel
• 60229 Rocket Assembly & Transport [$149.99 USD/$199.99 CAD] – prepare a rocket for launch with this assembly frame building with crane, transport crawler, multi-stage rocket and rover lab

Hands-On LEGO Space Activations

LEGO Stores around the world are planning activities to engage families in creative play designed to inspire their awareness and interest in space exploration. In North America, LEGO Stores will host Build & Play spaceship games from June 3-30. From July 1-30, LEGO Stores in North America will host weekly Build & Display prompts related to Mars exploration. In London, Berlin and Paris, larger scale events are planned July 23-26. For more information, visit www.LEGO.com/stores.  

40 Years of LEGO Space Building

LEGO Space play launched 40 years ago with the debut of the first LEGO Space playtheme – one of the first play worlds to be brought to life in LEGO form. Nineteen different LEGO Space subthemes have been developed, ranging from realistic depictions of space missions to alien adventures. LEGO Group has produced more than 20 space shuttles, the smallest of which came in a LEGO Advent calendar from 2001 and contained 10 pieces. Iconic LEGO Space minifigures were honored with the inclusion of Benny the Spaceman, a fan favorite, in “The LEGO Movie” and “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.”

The company knows children of all ages love to explore a passion for space exploration through building, producing building sets that have been among their recent top sellers among older audiences. Fans can explore the professions of groundbreaking women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics with LEGO Ideas Women of NASA [$24.99 USD/$29.99 CAD]. Budding astronauts can display and role-play with the majestic three-foot high LEGO brick replica model of the NASA Apollo Saturn V [$119.99 USD/$149.99 CAD], which powered the Apollo missions. The LEGO Creator Shuttle Transporter [$24.99 USD/$34.99 CAD] offers a 3-in-1 building opportunity.

About the LEGO Group  
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and main offices in Enfield, USA, London, UK., Shanghai, China, and Singapore. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and based on the iconic LEGO® brick, it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials. Guided by the company spirit: “Only the best is good enough”, the company is committed to the development of children and aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning. LEGO products are sold worldwide and can be virtually explored at www.LEGO.com.  

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and the brick & knob configuration are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2019 The LEGO Group. 

¹ This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of The LEGO Group from May 17-22, 2019 among 326 parents in the United States, 241 parents in the United Kingdom, and 250 parents in China with children ages 5-12. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Andrew Violante ([email protected])

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SOURCE The LEGO Group