Best Lego space sets 2025: NASA sets, spaceships and more

Space is a big theme for Lego, and it only seems to be growing. From NASA-branded display sets aimed at adults to fun space station playsets for kids, there's a huge range of space-themed sets, and we've rounded up the best of them.

Whether you want something to display and gaze at with wonder or you'd rather have something your kids can play with, you'll hopefully find something suitable. For adults, there's the incredibly realistic Artemis Space Launch System, based on NASA's actual rocket. And if you want something eye-catching and a little more unusual, there's a wall art set based on the Milky Way.

For kids, there are a lot of sets to choose from, but one of our favorites is the Modular Space Station, offering an engaging build and a fun play experience. For older kids who want to learn about the solar system, we highly recommend the Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit set.

You'll find those sets and a lot more in our guide to the best Lego space sets below, so read on to see what else is available. If you'd prefer to leave our solar system behind and travel to a galaxy far, far away then we've also got a guide to the best Lego Star Wars sets for you to check out.

The quick list

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery

It's unfortunate that the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery is close to retirement, as there's no denying that this is one of the best space-themed Lego sets you can buy right now. It's a recreation of NASA's real Discovery shuttle, built to scale and packed with wonderfully realistic details. There's an opening payload bay, for example, five seats for the full crew and a retractable landing gear.

Included in the build is also a scale model of the Hubble Telescope. You can have it out on display alongside Discovery, or you can stow it away inside the shuttle's payload bay, which we think is a seriously neat touch.

We're big fans of this model: In our Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery review, we praised both the building process and the final model. It looks seriously impressive on display, but we struggle to keep our hands away from playing with all of its moving parts.

There are a few downsides, however. The model uses a lot of stickers which can detract from the finished build (although a few do admittedly add some nice details). And there are also no minifigures included, but that's understandable given the scale of the ship.

This will only be available in stores for a few more weeks, after which point you'll likely only find it for more than the MSRP from resellers. It's absolutely worth adding to your collection if you're a space fan, as it makes a stunning display piece.

• Read our full Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery review.

• Back to the top ⤴

Milky Way Galaxy

There are multiple things we love about Lego Art The Milky Way. First and foremost is the fact that it hangs on the wall. If you're a Lego collector then you'll know how precious display space can be, and unless you have a huge house you're going to run out of it pretty quickly. That's where Lego sets that can hang on the wall come in: They can go anywhere without taking up any shelf or mantel space. We absolutely love them.

Lego's rendition of The Milky Way is one of our favorite Lego Art sets, in fact. It uses color excellently, to create something both abstract and eye-catching but also instantly recognizable as the Milky Way. Its design will, of course, appeal most to space fans, but the beautiful nature of it means that it's the type of wall art that just about anyone can enjoy.

One of our favorite things about the set, as we mentioned in our Lego Art The Milky Way review, is that it's made up of weird and wonderful Lego pieces, such as miniature hearts, stars and even tiny frogs — yes, really! It sounds odd but in practise it looks wonderful, and adds a lovely layer of texture to the finished work.

This is a fairly time-consuming build to complete, thanks to the fact it's made up of more than 3,000 pieces. But thanks to the fact that it's constructed of 12 individual squares that then connect together once they're finished, it's easy to work on in bite-size sessions. You can even have multiple people working on it together, making it a great activity for a couple or family to complete together.

It can be a little repetitive to build thanks to the nature of the set, but it's absolutely worth persevering with: the finished model is an absolutely fantastic display of color and texture, and it looks stunning on just about any wall of your home.

• Read our Lego Art The Milky Way review for more information.

• Back to the top ⤴

Space Astronaut

The Lego Creator 3-in-1 Space Astronaut set might just be one of our favorite space-themed Lego sets of all time. It's not overly expensive, it's simple to build, and yet the finished model is something you can be truly proud of. What's not to like?

Being a 3-in-1 set, the Space Astronaut can be built in three different ways. There's of course the Space Astronaut, but you can also build a space dog and a space shuttle. They're both fine, but not a patch on the astronaut, who is absolutely wonderful thanks to their posable limbs and detailed suit. It stands rather tall at 10.5 inches, too, and comes with a display stand so you can show it off on a desk or shelf.

What makes this astronaut truly stand out, though, is just how poseable it is. In our Lego Space Astronaut review, we talked about how you can move its legs, feet and arms to pose it however you like. You can even move its fingers, giving it various gestures that can be easily changed. A very cool touch.

It's a shame that the other models featured in this 3-in-1 pale in comparison, but let's be honest: We'd love this if it was solely the astronaut, so the dog and the shuttle are mere bonuses. It's hard to mind too much about that.

• Read our full Lego Creator Space Astronaut review for more information

• Back to the top ⤴

Artemis Space Launch System

The Lego Icons NASA Artemis Space Launch System is seriously impressive in just about every way. It's the biggest and most expensive Lego space set that you can currently buy, but if you have the budget for it, you shouldn't let the price tag put you off: you're getting a seriously impressive kit for the price.

In our review of the Lego Artemis Space Launch System, we made no hesitation in saying it's one of the best-looking space sets Lego has ever released. We think it's going to take something really special to beat it, in fact.

In case it isn't obvious, the SLS absolutely isn't a playset, and we'd wager that it's best kept out of reach of small children, in fact. This is a display set through-and-through, aimed squarely at adults and experienced builders. Bear in mind that you will need a lot of display space to show this one off, though: it's more than 28 inches (70cm) tall when it's built, so you'll need a big shelf to place it on.

As long as you've got the space in your home for it, though, you won't be disappointed. The details are second-to-none, and it looks incredibly like NASA's real Space Launch System that it's based on. So much so, in fact, that a talented toy photographer has used it to create some seriously convincing photos.

Ultimately, the Lego Artemise Space Launch System is a great, in-depth build, but it can get a little repetitive at times. It's worth the slog, though, and your perseverance pays off when the finished model comes together. Few Lego sets look as impressive as this, and if anything, it only makes us more excited for what Lego and NASA bring out next.

• For more information head to our detailed Lego NASA Artemis Space Launch System review

• Back to the top ⤴

Tales of the Space Age

"A real celebration of space" is how we described Lego Ideas Tales of the Space Age in our review. It's an accurate description for this beautiful and creative set that features four separate dioramas, each depicting a particular space event. There's a rocket launch, a moon base and lunar eclipse, a comet, and a black hole.

Unfortunately, like the Space Shuttle Discovery we've featured above, Tales of the Space Age is close to retiring, which means you don't have much longer to pick it up. It's worth seeking out while you still have the chance, though, because it's a seriously wonderful model that isn't going to break the bank. We doubt we'll see anything else like it once it's gone from store shelves.

Perhaps our favorite thing about Lego Ideas Tales of the Space Age is that each of the four images can be hung on the wall. You can choose to display them separately, but we think they look better all next to each other. We love Lego that can be hung on the wall when display space is so precious!

The only negative we can say about this set is that it's perhaps a little too simple to build considering it carries an 18+ age rating. While it's not a playset, it's a perfectly adequate build for children aged 8 and up as long as they're familiar with Lego. And since there are four separate models, all with their own instruction manuals, it's a great set for building together as a family.

• Read our full review of Lego Ideas Tales of the Space Age to learn more

• Back to the top ⤴

Modular Space Station

A new set for 2024, the Lego City Modular Space Station has been built with kids in mind. It's made up of 1,097 pieces, comes with six minifigures, and can be configured in multiple different ways.

The Modular Space Station is built around a "space ring", which essentially acts as an anchor for eight different modules. There's a bedroom, a kitchen, a workshop, a lab and more — and kids can remove these and reposition them however they want.

What's particularly fun (but very unrealistic) is that the pods can be removed from the Space Station and assembled into a train. Oh yes, this set can have your kids chugging a train through space.

In our Lego City Modular Space Station review, we praised the interactivity of the set, saying that it makes an excellent gift for kids with an interest in space. Our only reservation, however, is its cost. As a playset, it's rather expensive at $109.99, and we'd be hesitant to pay full price for it.

If you can pick it up at a discount (we've frequently seen it reduced by 20% or more), it's worth your time and money, and it's hard to imagine any space-loving kid would be disappointed by it.

While it might not teach youngsters much about life aboard a real space station, it does encourage creativity and imaginative play, and that's perhaps what we love most about Lego playsets. It's surprisingly big too, measuring over 15 inches across when built, so you at least feel like you're getting your money's worth.

• Get the full lowdown in our Lego City Modular Space Station review

• Back to the top ⤴

NASA Mars Rover Perseverance

The Lego NASA Mars Rover Perseverance is made from Technic, rather than traditional 'System' Lego pieces. Technic sets tend to be more complicated, engineering-focused builds, and the Mars Rover Perseverance is no different, thanks to its working parts.

Made up of 1,132 pieces, it's packed with lots of features that make it feel like a genuine replica of the real thing. It has articulated suspension, for example, which means it's built to move over uneven surfaces. And there's manually controlled 360-degree steering and even a moveable arm.

All of those technical features, however, make this a complex build — so we wouldn't recommend tackling it unless you're already familiar with Lego Technic. It takes some getting used to, even if you're a seasoned standard Lego builder, with complex mechanics that require serious concentration. It's well worth the challenge, though, as the finished model is hugely impressive.

In our Mars Rover Perseverance review, we called it a 'wonderful piece of Lego engineering', and it really is. It straddles the line between display piece and playset perfectly, making the finished model suitable for all ages.

There's also a dedicated AR app you can download on your phone. Point your camera towards NASA Mars Rover Perseverance and it'll bring the set to life — along with providing some neat details about the real Perseverance's mission.

• Read our full Lego NASA Mars Rover Perseverance review to find out more about this set

• Back to the top ⤴

Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit

We're not sure we've ever seen a Lego Technic model quite as unique as Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit. Made up of 526 pieces, it mimics the Earth's orbit of the Sun, and the Moon's orbit of Earth.

It's not battery-powered: Instead, you spin a crank which will set the model in motion. It's seriously cool, and it's a novel way to teach youngsters about the solar system and how the planets move. In our review of the Lego Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit, we praised its STEM stimulation elements, making it a great learning tool.

Lego markets this as a 10+ set and while we think kids even younger than that will absolutely love seeing it in motion, it might take much older, more experienced builders to successfully put this together. With a lot of cogs and working parts, it's easy to go wrong — but when you do get everything aligned, it's fantastic.

Perhaps the only downside we can think of when it comes to the Lego Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit set is the fact that it isn't the prettiest model to look at once it's finished. Due to being a Technic model, most of its mechanisms are on display, which means it's not all that aesthetically pleasing. But it doesn't matter: some Lego sets are designed to be more functional, and the educational properties of this one are far more valuable than its prettiness as a display set.

• Our full Lego Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit review has more details about this wonderful space-themed set

• Back to the top ⤴

3 in 1 Space Shuttle Adventure

We couldn't leave the youngest members of the family out of our guide to the best Lego space sets. Thanks to Lego going all-in on the space theme, even Duplo hasn't been left out. We think this chunky, colorful Space Shuttle Adventure set is the perfect choice for any pre-schoolers who have shown an interest in space.

This super-simple but adorable set is made up of 58 chunky Duplo pieces, comes with two spacemen and can be configured in multiple ways. The focus here is learning through play, and Lego has packed in plenty of opportunity for your youngsters to develop their fine motor skills. There are propellers which can be spun around, for example, and a winch that can wind and unwind — ideal when those astronauts are heading out on a space walk.

Lego calls this a 3 in 1 set, with three main ways to build the shuttle. But we're pretty sure those 58 bricks can actually be configured hundreds of ways, allowing little imaginations to run free.

It's on the expensive side: $59.99 for 58 bricks sounds like a lot, but remember that Duplo bricks are much, much bigger than Lego bricks. There's enough here for your kid to get plenty of play out of, but they're likely to grow out of it in a year or two when they want to move on to "grown-up" Lego.

• Back to the top ⤴

How we test - ✅

Our reviewers test Lego sets the only way that we know how: By building them ourselves. We build up each set that we review, detailing how long the build process takes, how enjoyable it was and if there were any particularly difficult or annoying sections. We also analyze how the finished model looks aesthetically when it's complete. Will it look good on display, are there any hidden details we like, and is anything missing?

If the set is meant for younger space fans then we also review the playability of the set: does it have lots of moving parts, are there minifigures included? Finally, we take the price into consideration to see if a set represents good value for money.

Lego Space Frequently Asked Questions