A Lego set commemorating Women of NASA has topped Amazon’s top-seller chart for toys and games. The set followed a suggestion from the public.
The Lego Ideas program lets people “vote” to lend their support to a suggestion, with the company formally considering any that get the support of 10,000 people. Maia Weinstock, who made the suggestion, will be rewarded with a one percent cut of revenue.
The set features four women:
- Margaret Hamilton (developer of the on-board software for the Apollo mission craft);
- Nancy Grace Roman (planner of the Hubble Space Telescope);
- Mae Jemison (first African-American woman in space); and
- Sally Ride (the first American woman in space).
The set contains 231 pieces, which fit together so that the characters have a display stand that also includes relevant objects, including Hamilton’s chalk board, the Hubble Telescope and the Challenger shuttle.
The original concept, which went as far as prototype figures, was a five-piece set that also included Katherine Johnson. Featured in the movie Hidden Figures, she was a mathematician who plotted the trajectories that allowed a successful moon landing. Lego says it was unable to get permission to use her likeness.
[LEGO Ideas Women of Nasa 21312 Building Kit (231 Piece)]