An astronaut who helped assemble the sprawling International Space Station is now behind a new series of space building projects that are on a very different scale.
Naoko Yamazaki, who as a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut flew on the penultimate mission of space shuttle Discovery, has worked with the Japanese toy and hobby company Kawada to launch a new collection of Nanoblock kits themed around space exploration. The Nanoblock "Space" series is set to go on sale in Japan on July 31, followed by a worldwide release.
"I advised on Nanoblock's new space series with the Young Astronauts Club of Japan. There is even an astronaut model [of me]!" Yamazaki posted on Twitter on Wednesday (June 7).
Indeed, one of the 12 newly announced models is of Yamazaki herself, wearing the NASA advanced crew escape system pressure suit that she wore to launch and land in 2011. The figure is made up of 190 tiny toy blocks — hence the "nano" in the brand's name — and stands just 2.8 inches (7.1 centimeters) tall when built.
Even at that small size, the model includes a representation of her name tag, the STS-131 mission patch (as a single blue dot) and her helmet, complete with a tinted but still translucent visor. A limited edition release, the Nanoblock Astronaut Naoko Yamazaki model has a list price of 935 yen (or about $7 US).
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