LEGO announced on Friday that the company would release its latest NASA Apollo Saturn V toy set on June 1. The toy is modeled after the Saturn V that has become famous for being the only rocket powerful enough to carry the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon for the first time in 1969.
The model has an impressive design and separates into three sections, much like its real-life counterpart, with the top section holding the Command and Lunar Modules. There are parts for the Command Capsule that allows it to land on water.
Inspired by NASA
The toy was designed by Felix Stiessen and Valerie Roche, which was submitted to the Lego crowdsourcing website in 2014.
The design was able to reach 10,000 votes by November 2015 and become qualified for review by the company’s design team. The design was eventually approved for production after seven months of being reviewed with a few minor changes.
The NASA Apollo Saturn V toy set is made up of 1,969 pieces to commemorate the successful moon landing in the year 1969. When the toy is put together, it will stand at 3-feet-tall or 110th the size of the original Saturn V rocket once erected and comes with three stands for a horizontal display.
NASA’s partnership with Lego
Lego has partnered with NASA to teach children about science, engineering, and technology and signed a Space Act Agreement in 2010. The goal is to develop educational activities, so it may inspire children to learn.
NASA sent the Lego sets to the International Space Station where it can be assembled by astronauts in the microgravity of outer space.
NASA and Lego created a design competition for teenagers to inspire them to learn more about aerospace engineering.
Lego’s history
The company began manufacturing its toys in 1949, and since then, a Lego subculture has been created that supports movies, games, and competitions.
Also, six Legoland amusement parks have been established.
As of July 2015, 600 billion Lego parts had been produced.
Lego started its space-themed toy sets in 1978 called LEGOLAND Space. The sets also started the company introducing systems to build with play themes.
The latest toy from Lego is scheduled to be released on June 1 and will retail for $119.99.
It also comes with an informative booklet about the Apollo missions and the toy’s fan designers.
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