Moonshots Of Lego

Fifty years ago, Earth witnessed an incredible feat: man walked on the moon for the first time. I’m still amazed by the fact we pulled this off using 1960’s technology, and I still marvel at documentaries on NASA’s early space program. But now I have a new way to geek out on the lunar landing!

NASA Plus Lego Fit Together

As part of celebrating man’s first steps on the moon, NASA teamed up with another well known company: Lego.

I love Lego!

To coincide with the 50th anniversary, Lego released the Creator Expert set, NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander.

Being a Lego and a NASA fan, this is an awesome match! And somehow, I did not know that this set, being so new, even existed. So, to my surprise, I learned about it when my family watched me open my Father’s Day present this year!

To my wonder and amazement, I slowly pulled this big Lego box out of the gift bag and tried to compute in my brain what I was seeing. NASA! Space! Lego! Huge! Over 1,000 pieces! What a surprise! I was half-expecting to open the other big NASA Lego set, the Saturn V Rocket.

The Lunar Lander is my first ‘Expert’ level set. And indeed, it was pretty complex and intricate to build. The challenge was a lot of fun. I always love how Lego surprises me during a build. I wonder how it’s all gonna work out. And as I’m snapping bricks together, I finally see it happen. The connections and features make sense. The creativity and ingenuity of the Master Builders is fun to marvel at! No Kragle required!

The Lego Has Landed

The Lunar Lander is a solid build and does not disappoint. It has a ton of gold pieces! The complex scissor-like legs are strong enough to hold the weight of the rest of the Lego model, being assembled with small rod pieces and some Technic shapes. This set even simulates the first footsteps on the moon using only square 1×1 smooth tiles arranged to create gaps in the lunar Lego surface!

Overall, this Lego-ified moon lander comes in three assemblies: Moon surface, Descent Stage, and Ascent Stage. It’s heavy, solid, and big. And it looks terrific!

The instruction book starts with NASA moon landing history and lunar lander design info! Having a degree in Industrial Design and a career in Structural Design, I love this kind of stuff! Knowing the how and why of things going together is super satisfying. That’s why Lego is so fun; it fosters design creativity and ingenuity.

To learn more about the Lego Lunar Lander and how it came to be, check out this link:

LEGO GROUP COMMEMORATES FIRST MOON LANDING WITH NASA APOLLO 11 LUNAR LANDER BUILDING SET

One thing that remains a question in my mind is, what will be the first Lego on the moon? Or has Lego already been in space?

Of course, the lunar lander couldn’t get to the moon without first being blasted off by the amazing Saturn V rocket that NASA built. And it so happens that Lego built it too! A model set of this famous rocket was assembled by Lego before making the new Lunar Lander set. I talk about it in a recent post: Geeking Out On Lego.

How do you top NASA’s lunar landing? How do you surpass the Lego Lunar Lander or Saturn V Rocket? Easy. You go farther and further. You shoot for Mars instead of the moon. That’s what NASA is doing. And Lego is too.

How are you celebrating the first moonwalk?