This set is so good, we got it twice! Not on purpose, but when my son Owen opened a present from our cousins this Christmas with this inside, instead of him saying “oh, I already have this”, he exclaimed “oh cool!! I love this one, I can’t wait to build it again!”.
No I am not advocating that you should buy multiples of Lego sets. That’s reserved for the folks who are planning on retiring on the profits of their vintage Death Star sets collecting dust in their garage. And in our house, we absolutely advocate for sets to be built, taken apart, and built again. But, this set is really so cool that having it twice was a nice little holiday bonus.
To back up a sec, why is this set so cool? To give some background, Lego has partnered with NASA on a series of sets (the others being …) inspired by the Artemis base camp project that will create a habitable camp on the moon. Each of the Lego sets are inspired by the concepts that NASA are working on as part of these amazing projects to inhabit the moon, which is pretty amazing. The set box, and the instructions, has more concept art and background to these projects, but it’s really cool to be able to relate a real-life kids toy to scientific exploration that is happening right now. Bonus fact: four little astronaut dudes did blast off into space in one of the Artemis prototype rockets earlier this year!
Ok, so that’s enough to get us excited about how Lego connects to real-life. But how about the toy? And let me tell you, this little rover is super cool. At first glance, you might be thinking that it’s a little expensive, at $40 – only $31 from Amazon! However, the design and build of this thing is awesome.
It has 3 little people, or minifigures in Lego-speak – one engineer type, and two astronauts, decked out in some very cool astronaut costumes and a lot of accessories. Lego’s commitment to gender diversity is on show here, with one astronaut being a woman with a fetching blonde ponytail. I will point out while Lego might suggest that’s how the minifigures go, obviously kids can mix and match. We are forever switching up our faces and hairstyles depending on our mood.
Lego suggests that this set is good for 6 and up. My son is five, but was definitely able to build this with ease and without help – not that it isn’t a fun build, but the instructions are clear, and there aren’t a ton of tricky pieces to slot in. It probably took him about an hour to put together, and he did need help with a couple of the stickers. Full disclosure – I put at least one on backwards.
What’s really cool though is that once it’s built, it’s super fun to play with. It looks awesome, with solar panels, antennae, and a massive geode rock to transport. For parents who remember Lego the first time around, it has some nicely nostalgic space logos on there. The six wheels all operate independently, which means it can literally traverse anything and move in any direction. It has the ability to open up so kids can play around the inside of it, and if your kid really loves it, there are options for it to connect to the other NASA themed Lego sets.
This is one of those sets in our house that gets played with all the time, and doesn’t end up on the candidates for breaking apart (not that that’s always a bad thing!). Absolutely love this one, and it’s an excellent gift for kids (and adults) who have a passing interest in Lego, space, or both. Here’s the latest link on Amazon for just $31.
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The Lego Parent 