Lego has become a favorite among automotive enthusiasts thanks to its car models. Its latest vehicle takes that concept to the stars with the NASA Mars Rover Perseverance model and the accompanying Ingenuity Helicopter.
The model is a faithful recreation of the Mars rover that landed on the red planet two years ago to look for signs of ancient life and collect samples to better our understanding of our solar system.
The new Lego kit will help builders understand some of the incredible engineering that went into the interplanetary vehicles. Like the real thing, it features 360-degree steering, a movable arm, and a fully articulated suspension that allows the rover to travel across Mars’ rugged landscape.
Read: New Lego Speed Champions Adds Pagani Utopia, Porsche 963, And Two McLarens
While we’re sure Lego is perfectly happy to have older Mars lovers buy the kit, it is intended, in part, as a learning tool for young builders. To help with that mission, the kit takes advantage of Lego Technic’s augmented reality app, to help owners see what their rover and helicopter would look like on the red planet.
The app shares educational content with the user, showing them what the live weather on Mars would look like, and teaching them about the environment that the real Perseverance rover has to deal with on its mission.
“Working on this model has been both challenging and exciting” said Luke Cragin, Designer at the LEGO Group. “I’ve always felt passionate about space, and the design process let me explore my interest as I recreated the incredible engineering developed by the pioneering team at NASA. We hope the model’s features and functions will help introduce young space lovers to the world of engineering and encourage them to reach for the stars in the future.”
Intended for builders aged 10 and up, the kit contains 1,132 pieces and measures in at nine-inches tall by 12.5-inches long, and nine-inches wide (23x32x23 cm). Coming to retailers on June 1, the Mars Rover kit costs $99.99 (£84.99/€89.99/$129.99 CAD).
