Teens launch Lego man into space

Two Canadian teenagers have put a man in space: A Lego man! Matthew Ho and Asad Muhammad, both 17, spent a year scheming, designing and even sewing (a parachute) in order to pull off their Lego-manned mission to the stratosphere.  

The do-it-yourself sub-orbital flight was a pretty low-tech affair. A helium balloon carried a small capsule that contained a cell phone for GPS tracking and four cameras, one of which was trained on a Lego man holding the Canadian flag and captured the amazing images that have all of Canada (and now the world) talking.

Why did they do it? According to CTV News, Ho told the Toronto Star newspaper: “Almost to prove to ourselves and prove to everyone else that we could do it.”

The little plastic astronaut and and his mission controllers have been getting kudos from fans, friends and even corporations since their story broke. Lego has sent Ho and Muhammad a letter of congratulations and Cannon, the company that made the cameras the two sent up with Lego-man, is sending them top-of-the-line gear.

This isn’t the first time a Lego has been launched out of this world. Right now the toys are serving an educational role aboard the International Space Station. And Wired's GeekDad blog points out that there are three specially designed aluminum Lego people hurtling toward Jupiter aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft… which will eventually smash into the planet.

Lego man is also not the first Canadian in space. Nine Canadians have been in orbit, including a civilian. In 2009 artist Guy Laliberte paid $35 million (US) to visit the International Space Station.

So do the two guys who put this homemade mission together have any plans to slip the surly bounds of Earth? They’ve got to graduate first. Ho tells CTV News that he plans to peruse a commerce degree once he gets accepted to university. Muhammed plans to focus on engineering when he graduates from Grade 12.