by Lego and NASA have a long history of collaboration, but a recently released set of buildings sent the partnership in a new direction — for both the toy company and the space agency.
The new Mars Crew Exploration Rover, which went on sale earlier this month, is unlike any space vehicle that Lego – or NASA – has ever built. For Lego, this was the first time its Technic line of advanced working models focused on a fictional space vehicle. Likewise, this was the first time that NASA engineers had suggested a Lego toy that was not in some way based on any of the agency’s plans or spacecraft.
“This was very refreshing for all of us, because we were designing with more freedom,” said Aurélien Rouffiange, the design manager who led the creation of the Lego Technic Mars Crew Exploration Rover, in a presentation to the fans of media and content creators.
Related: The best Lego space sets 2024: NASA sets, spaceships and more
Although the rover is fictional and set in the future, Lego still wanted to keep it realistic rather than going completely sci-fi, which is where NASA’s input was needed.
“When you look at this vehicle, we want you to say, ‘OK, that can happen.’ That’s where we wanted to set the limit,” said Rouffiange. “So after a [little] brainstorming, which I was lucky enough to be a part of – I mean, it’s not every day you get to talk to a NASA engineer – we came up with this concept.”
The Mars Crew Exploration Rover is a six-wheeled, two-seat mobile transport that includes an expanding truck bed, working suspension, working crane, living quarters and a set of scientific equipment and logistics canisters. The $149.99 Technic set includes 1,599 pieces and, as described on the front of its packaging, is “inspired by NASA Mars Rover concepts.”
“It’s kind of a campervan for space,” Rouffiange said. “There’s room for two crew members. You can open it up and there’s a whole living space inside. So you’ve got a treadmill and a shower … everything astronauts need to live on the planet. And then in the back , there are many cans for fruit.”
And “burdens” are not exaggerated. There are various containers for the crew’s trash, Mars rocks and science samples, water, oxygen and hydrogen. In addition, the rover carries its own deployable fuel cell generator, to recharge its batteries.
“We know that hydrogen will be a big part of our future, and we want to teach the children – and you – how it works,” he said.
In addition to its working crane for on- and off-loading equipment, there is also a lift on the back of the rover.
“One of the first things the people from NASA told me was, when they were in their spacesuits, [the astronauts] Can’t jump off the rover. They can’t run or do things like that. So they need something to get out of this vehicle, so I was lifted in a lift,” said Rouffiange.
Another consideration was the wheels of the vehicle. The rover has the same type of “rocker-bogie” suspension found today on NASA’s Curiosity and Endurance rovers, which allows them to more easily traverse uneven terrain and roll over small boulders. But Lego has traditionally designed its wheels in black, so it was a big question when Rouffiange tried to produce the tires of the rover in another color.
“At our first meeting with NASA, I asked ‘Can we use rubber in space?’ And with that kind of temperature variation, you can’t, because the tires would explode or something bad would happen like that, and it’s not great to change tires in space. things like that,” said Rouffiange. “The best result for us was to change the tires to gray to make them look like metal.”
The Mars Crew Exploration Rover is one of three new fictional space-themed vehicles released as part of the Lego Technic line. The other two – the Surface Space Loader and the heavy VTOL cargo spacecraft – are set further into the future and were therefore designed without NASA input. All three vehicles have one thing in common though, with the gray wheels also being part of the space loader and all three introducing a new bright orange that’s new to Lego with these sets.
Related: The best space games of 2024: Outer Wilds, No Man’s Sky, Kerbal Space Program and more
RELATED STORIES:
— These space-based Lego set ideas are incredible, and we hope they get made
— Lego space deals: Discounts on spaceships, space stations and NASA kits
— Watch 1,000 Lego astronauts fly near the edge of space (video)
NASA engineers had two more words of advice for the Lego designers. First of all, they said, it would be impossible to launch and reposition a rover of this size since it is too long to fit into any kind of realistic rocket fairing.
“So we make it smaller,” said Rouffiange, as he showed how the entire chassis contracts to be a shorter vehicle. “You can still drive it in this compact mode, but, of course, it’s not meant for that.”
The other thing that NASA emphasized the rover needed was the habitats.
“They said [the astronauts] you need a toilet,” said Rouffiange. “And we thought they were joking about this, but [no]they needed a toilet.”
Continue collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collect SPACE. Copyright 2024 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
