A Czech PR agency launched 1,000 LEGO astronauts into space – and you can win one of them for yourself.
The weekend of June 20 and 21 saw Kreativ Gang launch 1,000 astronauts into space in a collaboration with NASA architects, experts from the CIIRC ?VUT Robotic Centre, and the LEGO Group. The rockets had 1,000 minifigure space explorers glued down in a smiling, seated position, ready for their adventure.
Three lightweight rockets made it 35,564m high into the sky, each carrying 333 minifigures each, after taking off from Malé Bielice Airport near Partizánske, Slovakia. Balloons carried them up into the stratosphere before bursting, after which the rockets glided back to the ground on parachutes. To ensure the rockets were light enough to complete the journey, they are made out of carbon fibre, 3D-printed stainless steel, and plastic.
"To make the [LEGO] figures stay on the space shuttle after the balloon burst was a major challenge," Matusinky told Space.com. "We wanted [the figures] to be exposed directly to space, not to be stored inside anything. But during the free fall stage [before the parachute opened], they experienced speeds of up to 300 km/h [186 mph], so that was a challenge."
Luckily, all 1,000 astronauts made it safely back down to Earth – which means you could be in with a chance of winning one of the intrepid explorers. Kreativ Gang is also running a competition for those based in Czechia or Slovakia where you can win one of the jet-setting astronauts. You'll need to buy any LEGO product and keep the receipt, before registering it via the website. The competition opened on June 22 and will run until July 31.
See the 35km journey in full via the embedded TikTok below.
This isn't the first time that LEGO astronauts have travelled far from the ground, with NASA's Artemis programme also taking some brick-built creations into space.
Featured image: Kreativ Gang
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