An Amazing New Map of the Moon, In LEGO

OK, LEGO fans, it’s time to vote this awesome new LEGO Idea into existence! A stunning new 2,360-piece Lego Art space poster called “The Moon: Earth’s Companion” is currently gathering supporters on the LEGO Ideas website. If it gets enough votes, LEGO will review it and possibly create it.

This highly detailed, retro-style brick-built Moon map is not only beautiful, but educational. When put together, it shows the Moon’s craters and terrain features, displaying lunar geology and maria. It also includes geometrical phases of the Moon and a brick-built panorama depicting the Earth rising over the lunar landscape.

Not surprisingly, the idea was chosen as one of the LEGO Ideas Staff Picks, which celebrates “fantastic projects that show off something out of the ordinary.” In just a matter of weeks, the submission has already notched up over 8,800 supporters, and is well on its way to the 10,000-supporter milestone needed for it to be considered for production by Lego. Let’s do this, vote here!

It measures roughly 15.5 inches (40 cm) wide and 20.2 inches (51 cm) in height and can be hung on a wall.

The idea was submitted by Marc Sloan, aka @Sharky_Bricks who said it took him over a year to design this piece.

“I wanted to find the right balance between artistic license and accuracy, especially on something as familiar as the Moon,” he said via email. “I’m glad that my hard work has paid off, and I’m excited to share my creation with the world.”

Sloan said his inspiration for this design came from a lifelong passion for space travel and astronomy.

“As a child, I was fascinated by all things related to the cosmos, and I vividly remember visiting Cape Canaveral, and feeling in awe of the Apollo rockets and spacecraft on display. In addition to the Apollo missions, I was also inspired by the upcoming Artemis missions, which aim to take humans back to the Moon.”

Sloan said he has submitted several other 3D map designs to Lego Ideas, so he has a lot of experience using Lego bricks to bring 2D images to life. However, this one is the most popular to date. Sloan said he’s also revised his design after feedback from the LEGO Ideas folks.

“My original design was based around the Moon landings and featured a mini lunar lander that could be placed on all the Apollo landing sites,” he said, “but after some feedback from Lego Ideas, I made it more general to instead highlight the Moon’s geology and topography and its relationship to Earth.”

An alternate idea for the design is to depict a solar eclipse instead of the “Earthrise” panorama.

“I decided to use the Earthrise panorama in my final design after I shared a poll on my Lego Maps community on Facebook and they voted for it,” Sloan told me. “But it’s entirely possible that Lego might include alternative builds in the final product if it makes it through their selection process. It’s usually the case that Lego will modify the original design to improve on it in the final product.”

The description on the LEGO Ideas site says this piece “celebrates the beauty and mystery of the Moon,” and is “designed in a cool, retro style that will look great on any wall.”

If you agree this beautiful and detailed map of the Moon should become a reality, check out the LEGO Ideas site for The Moon: Earth’s Companion and vote!