Massachusetts

Lego Unveils ‘Women of NASA' Set With Astronauts, Scientists

The set depicting Sally Ride, Nancy Grace, Margaret Hamilton and Mae Jemison goes on sale Nov. 1

Lego has unveiled a set of figures celebrating the women of NASA.

The 231-piece set features Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, and Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space.

Also included in the set are figures of astronomer and educator Nancy Grace Roman and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton.

Lego versions of the Space Shuttle Challenger and the Hubble Space telescope can be put together with the set. A miniature version of Hamilton's workspace at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as she was programming software for the moon landing is also featured.

The set is the brainchild of Maia Weinstock, an MIT employee who proposed a women-of-NASA collection through the Lego Ideas program. It was under the headline "Ladies rock outer space."

“In all realms of science, engineering, and technology, pioneering women have historically been underappreciated for their often groundbreaking work. We have also seen that when girls and women are given more encouragement in the STEM fields, they become more likely to pursue careers in these areas,” Weinstock said in a statement. “With this project, I wanted to spotlight a fantastic group of women who have made seminal contributions to NASA history. My dream would be to know that the first human on Mars — or an engineer or computer scientist who helped her get there — played with the LEGO Women of NASA as a child and was inspired to pursue a STEM career as a result.”

The set retails for $24.99 and goes on sale Nov. 1. It’s recommended for ages 10 and up.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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