Lego celebrates Nasa's female space pioneers with new set

Lego has announced it is producing a new set of figures commemorating women who have played key roles in the history of the US space program.

The figures were green-lit for production after being proposed by science writer Maia Weinstock through the Lego Ideas series, which invites members of the public to suggest concepts for new Lego sets.

After winning support from 10,000 fans - the required level at which the toymaker considers Lego Ideas proposals - the firm has now confirmed the set will go into production in the near future.

The five women nominated by Ms Weinstock to be included in the set are: Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who developed the on-board flight software for the Apollo missions; Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who calculated trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo programs; Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space in 1983; astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, known as the "Mother of Hubble" for her role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope; and Mae Jemison, who became the first African-American woman in space in 1992. 

In her initial proposal Ms Weinstock wrote: "Women have played critical roles throughout the history of the US space program. 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."

As well as the five Lego figures, Ms Weinstock suggested that the Lego set could also include vignettes featuring: "The famous photo of the reams of code that landed astronauts on the moon in 1969; instruments used to calculate and verify trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo missions; a microscale Hubble Space Telescope and display; and a mini space shuttle, complete with external tank and solid rocket boosters."

Lego said: "We’re really excited to be able to introduce Maia’s Women of NASA set for its inspirational value as well as build and play experience."

Lego designers are now working on the final product design, pricing and availability of the set, expected to become available by early 2018.

Best performing Lego sets of all time