Just when you thought that we’d seen every single one of the Winter 2014 LEGO sets, LEGO decides to shake things up and drop an unexpected bombshell on us like a meteor from space! I am, of course, using astrological terms to describe this new reveal, as the fifth-ever LEGO CUUSOO set to be released has been inspired by a real-life NASA spacecraft! Coming in 2014–LEGO NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover 21104!

Disclaimer: I don’t know a ton about NASA and outer space and spacecrafts and things of that nature–my specialty is toys. So I’m going to try to keep my comments on this set to a minimum so that I don’t put my foot in my mouth and say something really stupid in my discussion of the 2014 LEGO Mars Rover 21104. I hope that you’ll all forgive my ignorance. Heh.

Anyway, LEGO fully unveiled what I expect to be their final big surprise of 2013 today: images of the finished prototype of the LEGO Mars Curiosity Rover 2014 set! Even better, they announced that the release date is less than two weeks away–the LEGO 21104 NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover will be released at the LEGO Stores on Thursday, January 1st 2014. If you didn’t already have enough sets to pine over for next year, now you can add another to your list!

Not only is the LEGO 21104 NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover set going to be hitting soon, but it’s also a great value! With a retail price of $29.99 for 295 pieces, the 21104 LEGO Mars Rover CUUSOO set hits my “LEGO value sweet spot” at just about 10 cents per piece!

It’s been a long road for Mechnical Engineer Stephen Pakbaz to get his LEGO CUUSOO project created, but after submitting the project to LEGO CUUSOO in 2011 and picking up the prerequisite 10,000 supporters in August 2012, LEGO is finally releasing the LEGO Mars Rover set that Stephen designed. The set will feature an articulated robotic arm, six-wheel rocker-bogie suspension and even multiple camera sets! Like I said, I’m not really a “space” kind of guy, but this is definitely a very cool and historic LEGO release.

The LEGO CUUSOO NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover 21104 is scheduled to be released by LEGO on 1/1/2014 as part of the Winter 2014 LEGO sets wave. Like all CUUSOO sets, it’s very likely that this set will be a bestseller and be difficult to obtain for the first few months after release, so definitely place an order at the start of the year if you want the LEGO 21104 Mars Rover without a long wait.

How do you like the LEGO 2014 Mars Curiosity Rover, LEGO fans? Does this real-life LEGO model get your scientific-inclined blood pumping, or do you prefer your LEGO sets to be more solidly grounded in fiction?