In a new video, former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino takes Legos to a whole new altitude. Check it out above!
In zero gravity aboard Novespace's Air Zero G airplane, Massimino unboxed and built a NASA-inspired Lego set. "We knew it would be hard … so we enlisted a pro," the video reads as Massimino walks toward the plane.
"Watch me unbox and build the new City Mars Shuttle while floating in zero gravity! Let’s get inspired and build our way to Mars one step and one brick at a time!" Massimino said in a tweet about the video.
Once on the plane and in zero gravity, Massimino opened the set, the Lego City Mars Research Shuttle, and the pieces immediately went everywhere. Without gravity, the pieces were quickly flung to all corners of the cabin, floating all over the place. Massimino tried to grab the pieces quickly, but anyone who has ever built a Lego set knows that it can be difficult to keep track of the pieces — even with gravity.
Related: Lego's Epic Apollo 11 Lunar Lander Set in Photos!
With the Lego pieces floating haphazardly around him, Massimino picked up the building instructions and got to work putting the set together. Airplanes like the Air Zero G use what's known as the parabolic maneuver to create brief periods of weightlessness.
In the video, when one of these weightless periods ends, Massimino is able to quickly gather Lego pieces before being lifted off the cabin floor once again. Eventually, Massimino was able to complete the build, and the assembled shuttle floated in zero gravity around the cabin.
The Lego City Mars Research Shuttle is one of a series of new Lego space sets inspired by NASA's Moon and Mars programs. It includes two Lego City astronaut minifigures; 273 pieces that make up the shuttle, which has an opening cockpit; two doors; a storage drone; a helidrone; and a NASA-inspired Mars rover. The set also comes with accessories including a helmet with a blue visor, an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit with a gold visor, a scanner and a geode with blue crystals.
Watch me unbox and build the new @LEGO City Mars Shuttle while floating in zero gravity! Let’s get inspired and build our way to Mars one step and one brick at a time! #LEGOLetsGo #LEGOCity #unboxing #ad #partnership pic.twitter.com/vTz5iu9Fi1August 19, 2019
During his time as an astronaut, Massimino, who was the first person to tweet from space, flew two shuttle missions to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Massimino is currently a professor at Columbia University and the senior advisor of space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
- Lego Exhibits Life-Size Moonwalker Model at Apollo 50 Festival
- International Space Station Tops Fans' Vote to Become New Lego Toy
- The Lego 'Eagle' Has Landed: NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander Revealed
Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
