LEGO launches NASA apollo 11 lunar lander kit on 50th anniversary of moon landing

LEGO has collaborated with NASA to release a detailed replica of the apollo 11’s lunar module. the 1087-piece set marks the the 50th anniversary of the 1969 mission, and features apollo 11’s eagle lunar module in both its descent and ascent stages.

to make sure the products were as true-to-life as possible, during the kit’s development LEGO designers visited NASA space centers. the set comes fully equipped with a base plate modelled after the moon’s surface complete with crater, footprints, and the US flag.

the set comes with the golden decent stage and a grey ascent stage, which separate in a similar fashion to the original lander. the descent stage of the eagle lunar lander features metallic gold landing pads and panels, opening camera and laser hatches, and a ladder, while the ascent stage has a detailed interior with room for two astronauts with golden visors.

the lunar lander set goes on sale for $99.99 in LEGO retail stores and via the LEGO online shop on june 1. it complements a 1,969-piece saturn V rocket building kit, released by LEGO in 2017. the toymaker also produced a ‘women of nasa‘ set of minifigures honoring four women pioneers of america’s space effort in the same year.

LEGO has also launched seven new lego city mars exploration building sets, inspired by NASA’s planned missions to explore the moon and the red planet. the sets include a mars rover with crane and accompanying equipment; a mars research shuttle with mini-rover; a lunar habitat with three modular compartments and a shuttle; an 837-piece kit featuring nasa’s space launch system rocket; and a 1,055-piece kit for building a rocket assembly facility with transport crawler.

there’s also a miniature space shuttle complete with a satellite and wrench-wielding astronaut, as well as a collection of 14 space-themed minifigures, including astronauts, a botanist and a personal trainer. prices for those building sets range from $9.99 (for the shuttle and satellite) and $149.99 (for the rocket assembly facility).