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I have loved LEGO since I was a child, just coming to grips with fine motor control. I have loved space nearly as long. So imagine my delight when LEGO unveiled a Hubble Space Telescope set today.
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has accomplished so much during its 35-plus years of life in space. It has received numerous camera upgrades over the years to stay fresh, and Hubble’s cameras have enabled many scientific discoveries that have shaped humanity’s understanding of the cosmos, near and far, and the very origins of the Universe.
When Hubble celebrated its 35th birthday in space last year, PetaPixel marked the occasion with a feature story showing some of Hubble’s best new photos.
The new LEGO Hubble Space Telescope set, which comprises 1,252 pieces, even celebrates some of Hubble’s most iconic photographs. The telescope itself sits on a base that features three LEGO-fied graphics of iconic space shots: the Pillars of Creation, the Whirlpool Galaxy, and the Butterfly Nebula. It’s challenging to narrow down Hubble’s illustrious library to just three shots, but these are great selections.
The Pillars of Creation | NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) | NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
The Butterfly Nebua (NGC 6302) | NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO TeamThe Hubble Space Telescope refuses to slow down. It has performed nearly two million observations since it launched into space in 1990, capturing well over a million photos of 108,000,000 different astronomical objects. Hubble has detected light that traveled 13,400,000,000 light-years. It even stared into the same small section of space for 1,000,000,000 seconds for its longest exposure.
It has orbited the Earth, 300 miles above its surface, over 195,000 times. Its data archive was over 477 terabytes as of last month, per NASA.
There’s no question that the more modern, ultra-sophisticated space telescopes like the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope are more capable than Hubble at a technical level. Of course they would be. But there’s just something special about Hubble. It inspired generations of people to love space. It certainly inspired me.
The Hubble Space Telescope LEGO Icons set will ship on August 1, 2026, and it is $139.99.
Image credits: LEGO, NASA, ESA
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