Lego and NASA have a long history of collaborating, but a recently released building set launched the partnership in a new direction — both for 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, it was the first time that its Technic line of advanced working models focused on a fictional space vehicle. Similarly, this was the first time NASA engineers advised on 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 fan media and content creators.
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