Are you a fan of LEGOs and an avid follower of NASA's missions on Mars? If so, you'll like the toy company's upcoming release. The Perseverance Mars Rover is taking on a new shape, and it will require you to build it block by block.
LEGO's Perseverance Mars Rover
You'll get to play a NASA engineer as you piece together the upcoming NASA Mars Rover Perseverance model set to be released by LEGO, with the kit number 42158. It has 1132 pieces, and it even includes a tiny Mars Ingenuity Helicopter alongside the rover.
You might have to wait a little over two months since its release date will be on the 1st of August 2023. The LEGO set is about nine inches high, 12.5 inches long, and nine inches wide. It's priced at $99.99. Granted, it's a bit expensive, but you have more than two months to save up.
LEGO says that it gives kids an adventure to remember as they build the LEGO Technic toy version of NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover, but it's safe to say that people beyond 18 years old will be having fun with it too if not more.
It is capable of 360 degrees of steering and you can even move the arm as if drilling Mars for regolith samples. The wheels have fully articulated suspension which allows the vehicle to maintain traction even on uneven terrain, as mentioned in Interesting Engineering.
For a more immersive building experience, the set also comes with buildable details like the power unit, antennae, cameras, and instruments, which makes it much easier to learn more about the vehicle rolling through the Red Planet.
Moreover, users can download the LEGO Technic AR app to scan the model and view it in AR mode. Through the camera, the user can view the Ingenuity helicopter fly along with other effects added to the floor to make it look like Mars' surface.
If you're having trouble building the model, you can access intuitive instructions from the builder app of the company. You can view the models in 3D, as well as zoom and rotate them to get a more comprehensive look into the build and understand it better.
NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Set
If you can't wait for the release of the Perseverance Mars Rover set, you can always make yourself busy with other space-related models that LEGO has to offer. They actually have several other sets that you might enjoy.
One you might particularly like is the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set. It has more pieces, 2354 to be exact, which is also why it's double in price at $199.99. The model is nine inches in height, 14 inches wide, and 22 inches long.
You can even open up the model's payload and engage the landing gear, as well as deploy the robotic arm. You can also view the cockpit to see where the crew stays. The best part, it comes with its own small Hubble Telescope as well.
