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Artemis II Has Flown, And Your Journey To The Moon Is Expected To Retire At The End Of 2026
*Screams in patriotism, LEGO® fandom, and booms* Let’s go! This excellent set joins the lineup of sets past, like the Saturn V LEGO® set.
LEGO® has an exceptional track record of creating NASA sets that emulate the real rockets. Do yourself a favor and get yourself in the mood for this review by watching the SLS rocket launch the craft into orbit…
Before we get to the build, the rumors, and the fanatics, let’s learn just a little about the Artemis Missions. NASA is launching these rockets to send us back to the freaking Moon.
What The Heck Are The Artemis Missions?
Artemis II, the first crewed mission (a lunar flyby), finally launched on April 1, 2026 from Launch Complex 39B after the February and March attempts were called off for hydrogen leaks. Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen rode Orion to within about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of the Moon on April 6 and wrapped up the mission on April 10, roughly nine days after liftoff and 53 years after Apollo last sent people that way. It was a test flight, and CBS reported that NASA is aiming for crewed lunar landings in 2028. Either way, this craft consists of the SLS rocket and the Orion Spacecraft, and it’s still the modern sequel to Apollo.
The SLS rocket, also known as the Space Launch System megarocket, stands 322 feet tall in its Block 1 configuration and produces 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust at liftoff — about 15% more than the Saturn V Rocket.
The Orion Spacecraft, located at the tip of the entire rocket, is the module built to carry four humans out to the Moon. It safely carried Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen (we’re back, baby) around the Moon and home again this past April.
But What About How Dope 10341 Is Going To Be To Build?!
Oh boy. LEGO® Icons sets have done it again. LEGO® has done it again. The countdown to awesome has begun.
It stands seriously tall on its launch mount, and you will want to clear some shelf space. And it comes with a whopping 3,601 pieces, which means it will take you a good chunk of time to complete it entirely. You can tell from the image that it is riddled with details — the cross-baring on the launch mount is incredible (the launch mount is the metal that supports the rocket’s launch). It doesn’t have any minifigures…but who cares!
This thing is sick. Looks like the LEGO® designers put their NASA engineer hats on and went to work!
BONUS: The Smaller Artemis Rocket That Actually Separates In Stages (Technic 42221)
If you love the idea of 10341 but don’t love the idea of handing your wallet a parachute, LEGO® Technic dropped a NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket (set 42221) that’s basically the “watch it separate” version — crank it, stage separation happens, dopamine hits, repeat. It’s 632 pieces for $59.99, came out January 1, 2026, includes four astronaut nanofigures, and it pairs ridiculously well as a desk-friendly side quest to the big Icons beast.
The Benefit For Your LEGO® Investment Portfolio
This is easy. All the kids right now watching these launches will not have the money to buy this. But in 10 years? 15 years? Those kids watching these new lunar missions will 100% want this rocket. These missions are going to send kids to school emboldened, passionately educating themselves to become NASA scientists. Decades down the line, they will want to buy this set, for a premium, from you!
What Are People On Forums Saying About The LEGO® Icons Artemis Space Launch System 10341?
We are looking at a retail of $259.99 (the MSRP since it hit shelves in May 2024), and trackers like BrickEconomy and Brick Ranker expect it to retire in December 2026. As one user put it, “LEGO® why are you taking my money?!” I can’t blame him, I feel the same way! I am most likely going to buy two or three of these sets…sorry honey, the house can wait.
While users complain that it looks a bit “boring” on the outside, there is not much you can do about interconnected smooth tubing. The real fun here is the details and the build experience — and we’ve had that reality check since it launched on May 15th, 2024.
On the secondary market, Brick Ranker had it averaging around $276.93 as of August 2026, a little above MSRP, and I have seen BrickLink listings from around $330.00. Just so you know, not many of these sell each month, so the numbers swing quite a bit, and some regions have already stopped selling it ahead of that expected December 2026 retirement. Do yourself a favor, grab one before it retires and add it to your LEGO® investment portfolio!
Get yourself lined up and ready to launch your bank account into orbit!
Matt Buxbaum · CEO at Baumlinks LLC
Matt B. spends his time arm wrestling, boxing, and most importantly, building LEGO®. His eclectic tastes give you dynamic information on all things LEGO® news and LEGO® product releases.
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