Playmobil Is Going to Mars with Epic New Red Planet Sets!
Mock Mars missions have never been this adorable.
When humans land on the Red Planet, they're going to need to take a lot of equipment with them.
Playmobil has released six amazing new playsets to help young space fans imagine a mission to Mars, including a rocket to get there, a space station to live in, a couple of rovers to explore the planet's surface and even a robot that can look happy or angry.
The new sets will be released May 1 and are recommended for children ages 6 and older. Check them out in the slideshow below!
Related: What Would It Be Like to Live on Mars?
Explore with friends
Exploring is always more fun with a buddy. This astronaut and robot can work together to explore the Red Planet's rocks and minerals. If the robot suddenly finds itself facing a hostile Martian, it can turn into an angry robot after the player rotates its eyes and head.
($6 from Playmobil)
Mobile Martian teamwork
When it's time to go exploring, look no further than this nifty ride. Four figurines can sit inside the vehicle's interior, entering and exiting through a side hatch with a liftable ramp. Also on this rover is a movable arm that has three different tools: a claw gripper to pick up samples, a drill for excavation and a laser gun to zap rocks! If you have two AAA batteries on hand, the rover also has lights and sound effects – the batteries are not included.
($45 on Amazon.com)
Red Planet Rover
Here's a fun vehicle for solo journeys on the Red Planet. There's a compartment in the rear to store blue crystals, so the astronaut can take samples back to a laboratory for analysis. Playmobil also suggests that the astronaut could take them back to the Mars space station, but that's sold separately.
($9 on Amazon.com)
Home, Sweet (Martian) Home
Here's the astronauts' home on Mars — a Red Planet space station. It's easy to spot from a distance, thanks to the lights underneath. Astronauts enter via a rotating hatch to get to a central hub with different modules where they can do science or living activities. It can also serve as a docking station for the rocket and satellite meteoroid laser (sold separately). This set includes two astronauts, a robot, the space station itself and a bevy of useful accessories such as a telescope and video recorder.
($80 on Amazon.com)
Launch to Mars!
Let's get ready for Mars! This amazing launch rocket is almost ready for a Red Planet launch. The set comes with a crew and maintenance platform as well as two astronauts who can sit in the cockpit during the countdown and liftoff. The crew capsule and transport container can separate from the rocket and dock with the Mars space station, which is sold separately.
($70 on Amazon.com)
Satellite Meteoroid Laser
Whenever any pesky space debris gets in the way of your mission, you can use this laser to blast it away. Open the solar panels to power the equipment, scan the area for any potentially hazardous obstacles nearby, then fire the laser toward the meteoroid, which luckily breaks apart quite easily. Also included is an astronaut and a robotic arm attachment to anchor the astronaut to the meteoroid-zapping satellite so your space flier doesn't float away.
($25 on Amazon.com)
- The Best Space Gifts for Kids 2019
- Kids Can Build, Drive Mars Rovers with New littleBits Kit
- How Will a Human Mars Base Work? NASA's Vision in Images
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.