New Lego Set 'Women of NASA' To Be Released

If you're looking for ways to inspire your kids to reach for the stars, LEGO is there to help you with a new play set featuring the badass astronauts and scientists who made NASA what it is today.

Mashable reports that the set, called Women of NASA, was created by science communicator Maia Weinstock and honors five accomplished women from NASA history. Lego announced that it has approved the set for release, but that it is still "working out the final product design, pricing and availability for the Women of NASA set, so check back on LEGO ideas in late 2017 or early 2018 for more details."

"Women have played critical roles throughout the history of the U.S. space program," Weinstock wrote in a description of the set. "Yet in many cases, their contributions are�unknown or under-appreciated, especially as women have historically struggled to gain acceptance in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."

The newly-approved set aims to help correct this by honoring some of the amazing women of NASA who haven't always gotten their proper due. The set started off as a proposal on LEGO Ideas, a community page where fans can submit their own suggestions for sets that the company should make in the future. Weinstock's idea went live in July 2016 and by August it reached the 10,000 supporters needed for Lego's consideration.�

The set currently features Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space; Katherine Johnson, a scientist and mathematician immortalized in the movie "Hidden Figures," who helped create the math that got astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program; Margaret Hamilton, a NASA scientist who developed software for the Apollo program; and Nancy Grace Roman, a NASA astronomer known for her work with the Hubble Space Telescope.

The unofficial art for the set shows the five pioneers in various settings modeled after their real-life NASA accomplishments, with Ride and Jemison shown standing next to a LEGO version of NASA's space shuttle, the vehicle that took both of them to outer space.

The company said that while the look and feel of the set isn't yet finalized, LEGO will work with Weinstock's original vision in the next few months to make it a reality and bring it to the shelves by late 2017 or early 2018.