NASA's Space Launch System: To the Moon and Mars

Piece count: 1,745

4 microfigures

35 inches tall

1/110th scale

(Same as Saturn V set)

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is designed to take the Orion MPCV spacecraft with a crew of four to the Moon by 2025 and to Mars in the early 2030s.

The SLS is built around its Core Stage. Two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) are attached to the Core Stage. An Exploration Stage may be added. (This SLS is in the Artemis I configuration; it has no Exploration Stage). A small rocket stage called the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is underneath the Orion spacecraft. Centered on the top is the Launch Abort System to lift the Orion spacecraft away in the event of a launch failure. The entire rocket without the Exploration Stage is 322 feet tall.

The first stage of the SLS (Core Stage + SRBs) produces nearly one million more pounds of thrust than the Saturn V. Unlike the Saturn V, the SLS has no Lunar Module (LM). The Orion spacecraft will instead dock with a lunar variant of the SpaceX Starship which will serve as a lander.

I think this will make a great set because the Artemis program will be sending people back to the Moon in less than four years! It would encourage STEM activities and provide a hands on learning opportunity. It could help inspire future workers in space exploration!