NASA and The LEGO Group have partnered up many times before, and this time LEGO® Technic has been chosen to launch us into outer space with set 42221 NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket. The timing is perfect, as the real-life rocket is launching in early 2026 – but as at time of publishing, it is due to launch in March following a hydrogen leak during the February dress rehearsal.
Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.
42221 NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket
- Release date: 1 January 2026
- Pieces: 632
Price:
- US$ 59.99 on LEGO.com US
- CA$ 79.99 on LEGO.com Canada
- GB£ 54.99 on LEGO.com UK
- AU$ 99.99 on LEGO.com Australia
- NZ$ 109.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
- DE€ 59,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
- NL€ 59,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
- FR€ 59,99 on LEGO.com France
- PLN 259.99 on LEGO.com Polska
- NOK 849,90 on LEGO.com Norge
- DKK 529.95 on LEGO.com Danmark
In September 2025, Tim was lucky enough to interview the set's designer, Olav Krøigaard at Fan Media Days and Olav's insights are included throughout my review.
The NASA Artemis Space Launch System is intended to bring astronauts back to the moon, decades after the Apollo mission wrote history. The massive orange beast is the subject of a current LEGO set already: LEGO® Icons 10341 NASA Artemis Space Launch System, first released back in 2024 which portrays a realistic model of the launch system along with its platform and tower.
As LEGO Technic is supposed to, today’s set puts function over form, and provides a model that can actually be launched off the ground. As the countdown clock starts, we first take a look at the new elements the rocket provides.
New molds
We are treated to two new molds appearing for the first time, both an extension of existing families.
Technic Connector 1 x 5 with Worm Gear Hole (7660)
First up is a new connector for the existing Technic Worm Gear 6M (73763), which is also known as "fusilli", or "the city worm" due to its first appearance in 2023’s 60372 Police Training Academy.
Due to the gear’s unique shape, it needs specialized bricks in order to operate. At launched, the first connector provided was Brick Special 2 x 2 x 1 2/3 with Worm Gear (73764, seen above in black on the right), which as we learnt from Olav is known among his colleagues as "the washing machine".
Later, the LEGO® Gabby’s Dollhouse theme introduced elevator element Brick Special 6 x 6 x 5 with Gear Hole, 3 x 4 Plate (3863), seen in black on the left (although the Gabby's Dollhouse version was pink, with a kitty head print!).
I took a closer look at those three LEGO worm gear elements in 2023.
A year later, 60409 Yellow Mobile Construction Crane introduced Tile, Modified 2 x 8 with Catchers on Underside (3776), a gear rack able to interact with the worm gear, which you can see above front left. Tom studied this element in his review of the LEGO yellow crane set.
But there was still something missing in the lineup. The three connectors all have studs. This makes them easy to integrate into a LEGO® System model, but far less ideal for usage with LEGO Technic System.
Technic Connector 1 x 5 with Worm Gear Hole, appearing in White (6563323 | 7660), fills that void. Roughly speaking, the connector is a 5L beam with a worm gear-shaped hole in the center and 2 axle connectors added to the top. Along with the 2 pin holes on the ends, that should provide sufficient points of connection.
Aside from the LEGO Technic connections, another aspect was in mind while designing this element:
"We had the 'washing machine'... I tried to build it in, and it was immediately very clear to me that we needed a LEGO Technic interface to build with it, because LEGO® System is always even numbered lengths, and LEGO Technic System is always odd numbers.
– Olav Krøigaard
The notches on the inside of the connector are also different: the washing machine positioned them in a 'cross' arrangement at 45° but with the new LEGO Technic piece they are located on the top, bottom and sides. This might seem odd, until you see them with a worm gear inserted.
The hole in the connector is 1 module deep while the washing machine's hole is 2 modules deep. The notches sit at the center of each part, so the ones in brick are positioned a half module 'forward' compared to the ones in the connector. When inserting a worm gear until it sits flush with the back of the part, the different notch positions result in an identical orientation of the axle hole, meaning you could use both types within the same model.
I welcome this new element, and hope to see it utilised in more upcoming sets. The designer starts us off with a great idea already, mentioning a "white whale" from my childhood:
For example, we had a drawing machine in the 1990s, and it could be fun to make one with this part.
– Olav Krøigaard
Brick Round 2 x 2 x 3 D. Tube (7654)
The other new mold is a new tube element: Brick Round 2 x 2 x 3 D. Tube with Axle Holes (Crossholes) at Each End, Pin Holes In Sides, appearing here 6x in White (6563271 | 7654).
The element is basically the straight version of Brick Round 2 x 2 D. Tube with 45° Elbow and Axle Holes (Crossholes) at Each End (65473 for the short version, 5489 for long) seen in yellow above, having the same diameter and even an identical cross-section.
The mold is somewhat POOP-ish, as the shape is close to a Brick Round 2 x 2, Pin Holes (17485, shown above left) when sandwiched between round plates (including the studs to get a similar height). I’ve also included Brick Round 2 x 2 x 2 Robot Body (30361, above right) which somewhat resembles the shape and functionality.
Despite the POOP feeling, the new mold does offer significant improvements. First are of course the ugly stud notches, unavoidable with studded parts, but absent in the tube family. It also means the element can be directly connected to the macaroni pieces, without capping the studs with a tile first. Secondly, the pin hole in the round brick (and any LEGO Technic brick for that matter) is not fully centered, but sits above the middle of the brick’s height. The tube version is perfectly centered. Lastly, the brick version has to work with the 5:6 ratio of LEGO® bricks, while the tube uses the 1:1 ratio of modern LEGO Technic System, making it easier to work in 3 dimensions.
That is of course, until you have to integrate it with your studded model… As the Dutch philosopher Cruijff said: “elk voordeel heeft zijn nadelen”.
It's like the R2D2 brick. But the problem with using that is that you cannot lock in both ends. I needed something to lock the boosters; if it was built only with little bricks, then it would break. So I have this beam to lock it all together.
Recolors
The following elements appear for the first time in these colors.
The rocket includes some nice new dark orange elements:
- 6x Technic Panel Curved 7 x 3 with 2 Pin Holes through Panel Surface in Dark Orange (6588041 | 24119)
- 2x Cylinder Half 2 x 4 x 2 with 1 x 2 Cutout in Dark Orange (6588053 | 35402)
- 1x Cone 4 x 4 x 2 Hollow No Studs in Dark Orange (6588058 | 4742)
- 3x Technic Beam 1 x 7 Thick in Dark Orange (6588057 | 32524)
- 1x Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Hole and Dual Beam Extensions in White (6589318 | 49132)
- 2x Technic Beam 1 x 9 Thin with 3 Holes in Black (6588040 | 4586)
Decorated elements
- 2x Cone 2 x 2 x 2, Open Stud with Black Dots print in White (6582841 | 115534)
- 4 x Minifig Trophy Statuette with Astronaut print in White (6582840 | 115533)
These might look familiar to you!
The print is very close to those flying in the NASA Apollo Saturn V (sets 21309 from 2017 and 92176 from 2020) and the 21321 International Space Station 2020, seen to the left in the photo above (6199668 | 34959 / 6342715 | 78185), with the Artemis version on the right. So close in fact that I am not even 100% certain they are actually different.
There is a clear difference, with the loss of the lines on the knees. The other details are similar, but the print quality is, to put it bluntly, crap. It feels as though they dug up the 5-year old stencils and reused them without cleaning them properly. Only the best is good enough…
The other decals are handled by a sticker sheet, most of them appearing on the booster rockets. These are similar enough to easily mix up, so I am happy they appear on the sheet in the same order as they are applied onto the rockets. Just make sure to rotate them correctly!
I’ve opted to leave the stickers off the model during the build, and I only applied them for the photos of the finished model.
Rare elements
The following elements are not new, but have appeared in only a single set prior to the release of this set:
- 1x Wheel 41 x 15 in Dark Orange (6462460 | 68327)
- 1x Technic Beam 1 x 9 Thick with Alternating Holes in Light Bluish Gray (6508520 | 6612)
- 3x Technic Beam 1 x 7 Thick with Alternating Holes in Yellow (6546803 | 2391)
- 2x Technic Pin Connector 3L with 2 Pins and Center Hole in Blue (6563616 | 46189)
The model
This is one of those builds where words don’t do the model justice. So I’ll first try to describe the progress of the build, and then a video will explain all the moving parts.
The build starts off with the base; a sturdy platform that hides a rather over-complicated drivetrain from the crank to the rocket. The red gear on the right with the white connector is mounted on a moving beam using a pin with friction. When launching the rocket, the gear doesn’t want to rotate due to the friction pin, but instead moves upwards until the driving grey gear next to it slips, creating a rattling sound. The friction also makes sure the rocket doesn’t fall back when you let go of the crank.
Aside from that section, most of the other gears feel like overkill: a straight line between the crank and the blue gear in the center could eliminate most of them. Not that I am complaining; the more gears, the more happy I become. So long as it doesn’t create too much of a price bump, the use of different sorts and sizes of gears makes the set a more interesting parts pack. With a price of US$59.99/ £54.99 for 632 LEGO Technic pieces, the price per piece is 9.5 cents/ 8.7 pence per piece.
We move upward, with some LEGO Technic frames providing a stand for the rocket and the mechanism. The worm gear with the new connector sits front and center. The black elliptical beams will guide the light grey beams holding the booster rockets later on, providing a nice, smooth motion.
The main rocket is a very simple build: just an outer shell that gives a roundish shape for the worm gear to fit inside.
The booster rockets are up next, with a mixture of the new tube elements and old-fashioned studded bricks, showing those stud notches.
The booster rockets are connected to the rocket. As the rocket launches, the grey beams holding the boosters to the sides of the rocket fall to the side along the elliptical beams, separating the boosters from the rocket.
The final stage is the top of the rocket. It sits on its own frame mounted onto the rocket. The chain is connected to the main frame. At first, there is a bit of slack in the cable. As the rocket ascends, the cable is tightened and pulled through the grey cable connector on the top and the top of the rocket escapes from the main body, showing the final stage of the rocker launch.
The nozzle of the final stage hides a clever building trick: the dish sits on a centered stud. If a regular round plate was used, an ugly gap would appear (top left above), but instead the dish sits snugly on the studs (top right above). This is achieved by inserting a lightsaber hilt into the cone, held in place by a 2L bar inserted at the other end.
The model is finished by covering up the stand and adding the astronauts. The set is intended for a 9+ age mark, and the little statuettes, while not fully in scale, are intended to show off the massive size of the rocket. A lid is added to reveal the inner workings of the crank.
That’s a lot of words, but seeing it in action gives a more clear explanation I think:
Conclusion
I have never made a secret of my dislike of the apparent overload of cars in the LEGO Technic theme in recent years. Nothing wrong with cars in general, but I prefer more LEGO Technic in my LEGO Technic sets. I echo RacingBrick’s sentiment that they might fit better in their own theme.
I am also not a fan of the general rule that LEGO Technic models need to be vehicles, even if they are complex diggers or cranes. So I am very happy to see a more static model (I guess you can call a rocket a vehicle), that focuses on showing functionality over form, similar to the 42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit from 2024. And the functionality of this set is very intriguing indeed.
The motion of the boosters and the top is smooth and flawless; despite many runs it hasn’t faulted on me or my 10-year old daughter, who is in awe with the movements. So for that, this set gets a high recommendation for me. I appreciate these types of sets are not everyone's cup of tea, but I need more!
I can also see the downsides though: with just a single function, there is little play value. That is not necessarily a problem, when it is compensated by being a good display model. And for that, I think the model is a bit too basic. The booster rockers and top are fine, but the main body looks too simple, even for representing a basic round tube. The Technic panels are just not the right fit I suppose.
The simple setup can be explained by the 9+ age mark, as indeed the model was originally more complicated but upon internal review, had to be scaled back:
"The Building Instructions team told me this would have to be a 10+ set, so I had to rethink it, and came up with other solutions. It is often about other ways to build it; maybe use another element that makes it possible to build the model in a different order. Or it can be that we also make a difference using colours – for example, in the back you see a lot of blue things; these are to help children."
So it's a mixed bag for me: I love the functionality and smooth operation, and judging by the reaction from my kids the age mark is right on target. But to be fully over the moon, the complexity and design could use another booster.
Still, I am very happy to have built this set, and it will get a spot on the shelf if I can find one with enough space above it. At least it is smaller than its previous version!
READ MORE: Review of the sumptuous 42691 Garden Restaurant from LEGO® Friends
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