August 6th 2012, the date when the latest rover will land on the surface of another world. Complete with a nuclear motor, drill lasers. Everything the stuff science fiction is made of, and science fact is built with. But this time Hot Wheels is going along for the ride!
Set to be released the 1:64 scale the new Hot Wheels set will be released regardless of the outcome of the landing. The folks over at NASA have indicated that there will be a window of about 7 minutes they call “7 Minutes of terror” Crucial to the mar’s rover’s successful landing. During this time the pilots at NASA will deploy, thrusters, a parachute, retro rockets, and a sky crane to get the complicated piece of machinery down. Considering it takes 14 minutes for light to get from here to mars, this team has to be on point.
This set rides on the heels of the successful 1997 Action pack (which I need to find a way to get) in NASA approved lander die casts.
The hugly successful 2004 Spirit and Opportunity landers where not done in Hot Wheels style, but got a Lego treatment instead. If I’m NASA i’d probably go with the winner on this one.
Make sure you send Positive Vibes to NASA at 1:31am EDT, 0531(GMT) as the scientists try to expand the limits of our knowledge just a bit further.
Hot Wheels on Mars: Mattel to land NASA’s Curiosity rover on toy store shelves | collectSPACE.