It may not be quite as cool as a life-sized Mercedes-AMG F1, but Lego’s latest creation is one that you can actually own. It’s a 632-piece recreation of NASA’s new Artemis SLS rocket under the Technic banner — which is good, considering Lego’s made it so that the rocket will actually lift off.
It’s not rocket science
You might even be able to convince your parents to pick it up on account of its awesome educational nature. The set captures the first eight (and a half) minutes of an Artemis mission — with the help of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to ensure it’s as accurate as can be for a box of plastic not actually headed for the Moon.
“The educational LEGO Technic set shows the moment a rocket launches, in three distinct stages,” reads the product description on Lego’s website. “Turn the crank to see the solid rocket boosters separate from the core stage, which then also detaches. Continue turning to watch the upper stage with its engine module, Orion spacecraft and launch abort system separate.”
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The launcher at the base of the rocket is home to all the gears and crank necessary to make the rocket move. There’s also room for the four astronaut minifigures included in the set to stand on the platform ahead of takeoff — matching the number who will actually travel to the Moon via the Artemis mission. If you aren’t all that fussed about your Lego model moving, Lego does still sell a larger, more detailed set that might be more your style.
The set is scheduled to release on 1 January 2026 for $60 (∼R1,000). There’s no local listing just yet, but Great Yellow Brick, South Africa’s Lego Certified Store, typically doesn’t mess about when it comes to new sets. It’ll do its best to match that dollar figure, too, so you aren’t getting ripped off.
