Introduces NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander Building Set

To mark the 50th 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 exploration. 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 U.K. say they have a child interested in space exploration, and 93% of parents in China agree.

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).

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.

(Source: LEGO Group news release. Image provided)

FMI: www.lego.com