If NASA can ship Lego minifigures to the moon, then you may assemble your own set at home (opens in new tab).
The space company, in collaboration with Lego Schooling, launched a crew of 4 diminutive astronauts on its Artemis 1 mission, which has already looped across the moon and is now on its way back to Earth. The flight’s Orion spacecraft will take a look at its warmth defend because it plunges again into the environment on Sunday (Dec. 11).
If all goes as deliberate, the capsule — with the minifigs packed on board (opens in new tab) — will splash down within the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Baja California, the place the U.S. Navy might be ready to help in its restoration. A profitable touchdown will clear the best way for NASA to fly 4 (full-size) astronauts on its subsequent mission, Artemis 2, someday within the subsequent couple of years.
The Lego minifigures’ personal cause for flying was to advertise science, know-how, engineering, arts and arithmetic (STEAM) schooling by means of a companion interactive digital studying collection that featured the Lego Space Team (opens in new tab) displaying college students what it takes to launch a spacecraft to the moon. The curriculum, which was free to folks and lecturers, constructed off the joy of the Artemis 1 mission with 10 weeks of hands-on actions.
Sadly for Lego followers, the “Build to Launch” program (opens in new tab) didn’t embody a strategy to get your individual set of Artemis 1 minifigures. A typical query shared on social media, Lego didn’t produce duplicates on the market.
However that is Lego, which suggests all you want is your creativeness, some cash and a information like this one to construct them your self.
Artemis 1 launch photos: Amazing views of NASA’s moon rocket debut
The precise stuff
The Artemis 1 Lego crew consists of Kate and Kyle, characters from the Lego Schooling SPIKE Prime classroom constructing units, and Julia and Sebastian, minifigures from the Lego Metropolis line of toys. There’s a catch, although. As first time astronauts, all 4 have new seems.
So it isn’t so simple as simply discovering their kits and uniting the crew.
Happily, Lego didn’t create any customized items when designing their crew. For previous minifigure space missions to the Worldwide Area Station, Mars and Jupiter, the Denmark-based toy firm has used specifically printed components, new molds and even particular supplies to supply units unattainable to gather. For Artemis 1, all of the items are on the market; you simply must know the suitable stuff to hunt.
Every Lego element has its personal ID quantity. Listed below are the items you must assemble the astronauts. (BrickLink numbers are additionally listed in parenthesis; extra on that under.)
Command Pilot Kate
Head: 4651443 (3626bpb0633)
Hair: 4527065 (62696 – darkish brown)
Mission Specialist Kyle
Head: 6153335 (3626cpb1569)
Hair: 6079896 (98385 – black)
Julia
Head: 6100203 (3626cpb1211)
Hair: 4549990 (85974 – vivid yellow)
Sebastian
Head: 6288015 (3626cpb2534)
Hair: 6122096 (21778 – black)
All 4 have the identical torso, legs and helmets. Their go well with particulars are based mostly on the design of NASA’s OCSS (Orion Crew Survival System) stress fits that Artemis astronauts will put on for his or her launch from and splash down on Earth.
Torso: 6389826 (973pb4625c01)
Legs: 6384556 (970c110pb03)
Visor: 6390119 (89159)
Helmet: 6259946 (49663pb01)
Associated: Lego space deals: holiday savings on spaceships, space stations and NASA kits
Recruiting your crew
There are just a few methods you may go about buying the components wanted to assemble your individual Artemis 1 Lego minifigures.
A method is to order the components you want.
Lego’s web site has a section called “Pick A Brick” (opens in new tab) the place you may search for and order particular person Lego items. All the person components wanted to construct the minifigures are priced at underneath $1.00 every, although the location might not have the entire items wanted. (On the time of this text, Choose A Brick didn’t have Kyle’s hair and the legs wanted for all 4 figures listed for order.)
Lego additionally owns BrickLink (opens in new tab), a web site the place followers should buy and promote Lego items. BrickLink has a wider choice than Choose A Brick, however it’s unfold throughout many alternative sellers positioned around the globe. Discovering and ordering items are made simple by the location, however you will have to put orders with numerous shops to finish your need checklist.
Different impartial (not owned or operated by Lego) marketplaces additionally exist. Along with eBay for secondary gross sales, there are web sites similar to Brick Owl and Rebrickable that may aid you supply the items you want. (Minifigs.me, a customized minifigures retailer, additionally sells particular person components and helped supply the items wanted for the figures illustrated on this article.)
You may as well discover the items in different Lego constructing units. For instance, Julia’s hair is included within the Lego Folks Pack – Area Analysis and Improvement set (60230) launched in 2019, and Kate’s head is part used with a special minifigure that got here with Shuttle Expedition (10231) bought in 2011.
You may search for further product units on BrickLink by looking for every bit or verify when you already personal the half by wanting on the piece index in the back of most trendy Lego instruction books.
The torso, legs and helmets for every determine is a brand new design launched earlier this 12 months with the release of five Artemis-inspired City line sets (opens in new tab). You will have 4 our bodies (and helmets), and there have been 5 included throughout 4 of the merchandise (Rocket Launch Middle [60351] comes with two, and one every is included with the Lunar Area Station [60349], Lunar Analysis Base [60350] and Mars Spacecraft Exploration Missions [60354]).
There was additionally a minifigure in a foil pack (Sally Stardust’s Satellite tv for pc [952205]) included with the Could 2022 difficulty of Lego Metropolis journal, which incorporates the identical head as used for Kate.
After getting all of the components in hand, it’s a easy matter of becoming every set of head, hair, torso and legs collectively. For extra authenticity, you will get a bubble wrap pouch to retailer them collectively, simply as they have been stowed aboard the Artemis 1 Orion (opens in new tab).
collectSPACE.com is grateful to movie and TV firm Haviland Digital (opens in new tab) for supporting our Artemis I protection. Their group has produced and supported titles such because the award-winning “Final Man on the Moon,” “Mission Management: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo” and “Armstrong.”
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