by Lego is preparing to deliver a scale model of the original “rock and roll ride”, the electric buggy driven by NASA’s last three Apollo crews to explore the moon.
The new Lego Technic “NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle – LRV” series will hit Lego stores on August 1st.
“Take a trip to the moon with this detailed Lego Technic NASA model for adults. The set includes a realistic model version of the lunar rover module carried by Apollo 17, as well as three attachable equipment sets,” reads the Lego website .
A natural follow-up to Lego’s earlier Saturn V and Apollo 11 rocket releases, the LRV (set no. 42182) includes 1,913 pieces and can be pre-ordered now from the Lego online store for $219.99 (€219.99 or £189.99) .
Related: The Apollo Program: How NASA sent astronauts to the moon
Lego NASA NASA Lunar Roving Vehicle: Pre-order for $219 at Lego.com
Re-enact the Apollo lunar exploration program with this detailed Lego Technic set for adults. The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle set includes a realistic model version of the lunar rover module that carried Apollo 17 to the moon, complete with authentic details.View Deal
After successfully landing two crews on the moon in 1969, NASA looked for a way to extend the distance the astronauts could traverse to explore more of the surrounding lunar terrain. At first, the agency tried using a rickshaw-like vehicle (called the Modular Equipment Transporter, or MET) to increase the number of tools that could be hauled to more distant sites, but it was it was difficult to keep the hand-drawn cart moving.
What the astronauts really needed was a motorized vehicle, provided by Boeing, working with GM (General Motors) and Goodyear. The Apollo Lunar Rotary Vehicle (LRV) enabled Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt to proceed as far as 4.7 miles (7.6 kilometers) away from their lunar module. (The distance was still limited by how far the crew could walk because of their oxygen supply in case the rover broke down.)
Over the course of three trips each, the Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 astronauts drove their rovers 17.3 miles (27.9 km), 16.6 miles (26.7 km) and 22.2 miles (35.7 km), respectively.
The Lego Technic NASA Apollo Lunar Rotator Vehicle – LRV reproduces a lunar buggy at 1/8th scale, down to some of the smallest details. The construction is divided into four main parts: the four-wheeled chassis with its integrated control and display console and seats; the front chassis with high gain antenna and TV camera; the lunar communications relay unit (LCRU), including a low-gain antenna and 16mm camera; and the aft pallet assembly with a collection of tools (including a rock hammer, drilling equipment, pipe wrench and adjustable scoop) and lunar experiments.
Just like the real lunar rover, which needed to be compact enough to fit inside the lunar module’s descent stage, each of the three final Lego parts can be removed so the main chassis can be folded . In its stowed configuration, the full-size LRV was just over half its overall length of 10 feet (3 meters).
Once deployed, the Lego rover can be steered using the same T-shaped hand controller used by the astronauts, and has a suspension system that allows it to traverse the lunar terrain. Although the model is hand-powered, the actual rover uses batteries and a similar Lego model to include its heating and cooling elements,
The Lego LRV also includes some pieces that are specific to at least two of the missions that the rover is used for. The model features a collection of “moon rocks”, including one much larger than the others representing “Big Muley” – the largest rock sample taken by Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charlie Duke of the Universe.
Also included is the Traverse Gravimeter Experiment, which measured the geological structure of the moon as Cernan and Schmitt drove around Taurus-Littrow. Another nod to the final mission to land humans on the moon (so far) is the map located on the LCRU – it details the actual paths traversed by the Apollo 17 LRV on its three drives. (Unfortunately, the set doesn’t seem to include a way to convert the map into a transfer replacement fender, as Cernan and Schmitt had to do on the second trip.)
The team also had to forget about the fine wire mesh that made up the high-gain antenna dish and the rover’s mesh soles (although the latter is shaped to give it a mesh appearance). Perhaps that can be excused, however, because the actual rovers used by the astronauts for training required the use of rubber tires, as the mesh could only support the weight of the vehicle in a low environment -the center of gravity of the moon.
Related: NASA selects 3 companies to design a lunar rover for the Artemis astronauts to drive on the moon
RELATED STORIES:
— Apollo 15: The moon buggy begins
— The moon: Everything you need about Earth’s companion
– NASA’s Artemis Program: Everything you need to know
The Lego Technic Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle – LRV It is the company’s second model of the historic vehicle, following a much more basic red, white and blue buggy included in series 565, “Moon Landing,” released in 1976 .Lego has also made other lunar rovers as part of its various space-themed fictional series and the 2022 Lunar Orbiter (60348) was based on early NASA concepts for its current Artemis program.
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