Build your own Lego minifigures as flown to the moon on Artemis 1

December 9, 2022

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If NASA can ship Lego minifigures to the moon, then you may assemble your own set at home (opens in new tab).

The space company, in collaboration with Lego Schooling, launched a crew of 4 diminutive astronauts on its Artemis 1 mission, which has already looped across the moon and is now on its way back to Earth. The flight’s Orion spacecraft will check its warmth defend because it plunges again into the ambiance on Sunday (Dec. 11).

If all goes as deliberate, the capsule — with the minifigs packed on board (opens in new tab) — will splash down within the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Baja California, the place the U.S. Navy will likely be ready to help in its restoration. A profitable touchdown will clear the way in which for NASA to fly 4 (full-size) astronauts on its subsequent mission, Artemis 2, someday within the subsequent couple of years.

The Lego minifigures’ personal purpose for flying was to advertise science, expertise, engineering, arts and arithmetic (STEAM) schooling by a companion interactive digital studying sequence that featured the Lego Space Team (opens in new tab) exhibiting college students what it takes to launch a spacecraft to the moon. The curriculum, which was free to folks and academics, constructed off the thrill of the Artemis 1 mission with 10 weeks of hands-on actions.

Sadly for Lego followers, the “Build to Launch” program (opens in new tab) didn’t embrace a method to get your individual set of Artemis 1 minifigures. A standard query shared on social media, Lego didn’t produce duplicates on the market.

However that is Lego, which implies all you want is your creativeness, some cash and a information like this one to construct them your self.

Artemis 1 launch photos: Amazing views of NASA’s moon rocket debut

The pinnacle and hair items you have to to construct the Artemis 1 Lego crews Kate, Julia, Kyle and Sebastian. (Picture credit score: Minifigs.me/collectSPACE.com)

The suitable stuff

The Artemis 1 Lego crew consists of Kate and Kyle, characters from the Lego Schooling SPIKE Prime classroom constructing units, and Julia and Sebastian, minifigures from the Lego Metropolis line of toys. There’s a catch, although. As first time astronauts, all 4 have new appears to be like.

So it’s not so simple as simply discovering their kits and uniting the crew.

Fortuitously, Lego didn’t create any customized items when designing their crew. For previous minifigure space missions to the Worldwide Area Station, Mars and Jupiter, the Denmark-based toy firm has used specifically printed elements, new molds and even particular supplies to provide units inconceivable to gather. For Artemis 1, all of the items are on the market; you simply have to know the suitable stuff to hunt.

Every Lego element has its personal ID quantity. Listed below are the items it’s worthwhile to assemble the astronauts. (BrickLink numbers are additionally listed in parenthesis; extra on that beneath.)

Command Pilot Kate

Head: 4651443 (3626bpb0633)
Hair: 4527065 (62696 – darkish brown)

Mission Specialist Kyle

Head: 6153335 (3626cpb1569)
Hair: 6079896 (98385 – black)

Julia

Head: 6100203 (3626cpb1211)
Hair: 4549990 (85974 – shiny yellow)

Sebastian

Head: 6288015 (3626cpb2534)
Hair: 6122096 (21778 – black)

All 4 have the identical torso, legs and helmets. Their go well with particulars are based mostly on the design of NASA’s OCSS (Orion Crew Survival System) strain fits that Artemis astronauts will put on for his or her launch from and splash down on Earth.

Torso: 6389826 (973pb4625c01)
Legs: 6384556 (970c110pb03)
Visor: 6390119 (89159)
Helmet: 6259946 (49663pb01)

Associated: Lego space deals: holiday savings on spaceships, space stations and NASA kits

The torso and legs needed for the Artemis minifigures can be found in NASA-inspired Lego sets sold in 2022.

The torsos and legs wanted for the Artemis minifigures might be present in NASA-inspired Lego units offered in 2022. (Picture credit score: Lego/collectSPACE.com)

Recruiting your crew

There are a number of methods you may go about buying the elements wanted to assemble your individual Artemis 1 Lego minifigures.

A method is to order the elements you want.

Lego’s web site has a section called “Pick A Brick” (opens in new tab) the place you may search for and order particular person Lego items. All the person elements wanted to construct the minifigures are priced at below $1.00 every, although the positioning might not have the entire items wanted. (On the time of this text, Choose A Brick didn’t have Kyle’s hair and the legs wanted for all 4 figures listed for order.)

Lego additionally owns BrickLink (opens in new tab), an internet site the place followers can purchase and promote Lego items. BrickLink has a wider choice than Choose A Brick, however it’s unfold throughout many various sellers situated all over the world. Discovering and ordering items are made straightforward by the positioning, however you might have to put orders with varied shops to finish your need record.

Different unbiased (not owned or operated by Lego) marketplaces additionally exist. Along with eBay for secondary gross sales, there are web sites corresponding to Brick Owl and Rebrickable that may enable you supply the items you want. (Minifigs.me, a customized minifigures retailer, additionally sells particular person elements and helped supply the items wanted for the figures illustrated on this article.)

You too can discover the items in different Lego constructing units. For instance, Julia’s hair is included within the Lego Folks Pack – Area Analysis and Improvement set (60230) launched in 2019, and Kate’s head is part used with a special minifigure that got here with Shuttle Expedition (10231) offered in 2011.

You’ll be able to search for further product units on BrickLink by looking for every bit or test in the event you already personal the half by wanting on the piece index behind most fashionable Lego instruction books.

The four Lego minifigures flying on NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft are shown packaged for flight before the moon mission's launch.

The 4 Lego minifigures flying on NASA’s Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft are proven packaged for flight earlier than the moon mission’s launch. (Picture credit score: Lego)

The torso, legs and helmets for every determine is a brand new design launched earlier this 12 months with the release of five Artemis-inspired City line sets (opens in new tab). You will want 4 our bodies (and helmets), and there have been 5 included throughout 4 of the merchandise (Rocket Launch Middle [60351] comes with two, and one every is included with the Lunar Area Station [60349], Lunar Analysis Base [60350] and Mars Spacecraft Exploration Missions [60354]).

There was additionally a minifigure in a foil pack (Sally Stardust’s Satellite tv for pc [952205]) included with the Could 2022 problem of Lego Metropolis journal, which incorporates the identical head as used for Kate.

After getting all of the elements in hand, it’s a easy matter of becoming every set of head, hair, torso and legs collectively. For added authenticity, you will get a bubble wrap pouch to retailer them collectively, simply as they had been stowed aboard the Artemis 1 Orion (opens in new tab).

collectSPACE.com is grateful to movie and TV firm Haviland Digital (opens in new tab) for supporting our Artemis I protection. Their workforce has produced and supported titles such because the award-winning “Final Man on the Moon,” “Mission Management: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo” and “Armstrong.”