Lego announces new set themed around the women of NASA

Impact

Toy manufacturer Lego Group has announced it will be creating a set of Legos based around the women of NASA, Community Specialist Hasan Jensen wrote in a blog post for the company on Tuesday.

The idea for the project was originally pitched by Maia Weinstock, who submitted the concept to Lego through the company's Lego Ideas program.

"Women have played critical roles throughout the history of the U.S. space program, a.k.a. NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration," Weinstock wrote. "Yet in many cases, their contributions are unknown or under-appreciated — especially as women have historically struggled to gain acceptance in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)."

The set will include five women who contributed to NASA's mission, including computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, mathematician Katherine Johnson, astronaut Sally Ride, astronomer Nancy Grace Roman and astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to enter space in 1992.

Additionally, the set contains a photo of code used to successfully land astronauts on the moon in 1969, as well as "instruments used to calculate and verify trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo missions; a microscale Hubble Space Telescope and display; and a mini space shuttle, complete with external tank and solid rocket boosters," Weinstock wrote.

Maia Weinstock/Lego Ideas
Maia Weinstock/Lego Ideas
Maia Weinstock/Lego Ideas
Maia Weinstock/Lego Ideas

However, the set is not projected to go into production for some time.

"We're still working out the final product design, pricing and availability [sic] for the Women of NASA set, so check back on LEGO Ideas in late 2017 or early 2018 for more details," Hansen wrote.