Toys
The term "toy" generally applies to any object used by children in play. However, there is a huge business in creating objects, usually in miniature, designed specifically for children's play. These toys generally model adult culture and society, frequently with great accuracy. In the last half of the twentieth century, model National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft, toy ray guns with light and sound action, and spaceships and action figures related to popular films reflected the recent growth of interest in science fiction and space exploration.
There are a wide range of space toys available in the market today. Children have access to transparent model Saturn V rockets, models of the International Space Station, models of the Apollo 15 Lunar Lander with the Lunar Rover, and a complete Cape Canaveral launch pad. The toy manufacturer Brio has a Space Discovery Set suitable for very young children that includes an astronaut, a launch vehicle, and a launch control center with a ground crew member. Lego has three toys in its Life on Mars series: the
Excavation Searcher, the Mars Solar Explorer, and the Red Planet Protector. Action Products sells the Complete Space Explorer with models of the space shuttle, Apollo Lunar Lander, Skylab, and dozens of small action figures representing astronauts and ground crews.
The Mars Pathfinder mission, one of a series of robotic explorations of other planets, created many business opportunities for toy manufacturers. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and NASA have signed thirty-seven licensing agreements for products related to this mission, including T-shirts, caps, and toys. One of the most interesting and ambitious toys was the Mattel Hot Wheels JPL Sojourner Mars Rover Action Pack set. This set includes toy models of Sojourner, the Pathfinder spacecraft, and a lander. Many of the Sojourner rover's unique attributes are included, such as its six-wheel independent suspension that allows it to navigate rough terrain. According to Joan Horvath, a business alliance manager with JPL's Technology Affiliates Program, these toy models helped educate both kids and parents alike about the Mars Pathfinder mission in the most user-friendly manner possible. Moreover, it made the business community aware of the many different aspects of the JPL's technology transfer programs.
The success of the Mattel Mars Pathfinder set led to another license agreement. JPL and Mattel teamed up for a toy version of NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The Hot Wheels Jupiter/Europa Encounter Action Pack includes a highly detailed reproduction of the Galileo spacecraft, the Galileo descent probe, and of one of the ground-based antenna dishes.
Toys in Space
Toys have also ventured into space. Carolyn Sumners of the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas, assembled a small group of toys to be flown on space shuttle mission 51-D in April 1985. During the flight, crew members experimented with the toys, demonstrating the behavior of
objects under conditions of apparent weightlessness. The first "Toys in Space" mission was so successful, a second group of toys was flown on the STS-54 mission in January 1993. During the second Toys in Space mission, astronauts John Casper and Susan Helms demonstrated how the behavior of several simple toys was quite different under microgravity conditions.
In June 2001, The Lego company teamed up with Space Media, Inc.™ and RSC Energia to conduct the first experiment on the International Space Station using toys. The Life on Mars: Red Planet Protector was used to measure the mass of an object under zero-gravity conditions. Cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin demonstrated how an object's mass can be determined from oscillation frequency in a weightless environment.
Educational toys related to space exploration can serve the dual roles of providing a good return on investment for toy manufacturers while at the same time providing a rich learning opportunity for children. The vision of Lego, sparking an interest in science and space, can provide a sound basis for socially conscious free enterprise. The cooperative model developed by Mattel and JPL has been mutually beneficial, serving as a strong profit center for Mattel while effectively publicizing NASA and JPL's commitment to technology transfer.
Bibliography
Cross, Gary. Kids' Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.
Maurer, Richard. Rocket! How a Toy Launched the Space Age. New York: Crown Publishers, 1995.
McCurdy, Howard. Space and the American Imagination. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.
Payton, Crystal, and Leland Payton. Space Toys: A Collector's Guide to Science Fiction and Astronautical Toys. Sedalia, MO: Collector's Compass, 1982.
Sumners, Carolyn R. Toys in Space: Exploring Science with the Astronauts. New York:TAB Books, 1994.
Young, S. Mark. America, Blast Off! Rockets, Robots, Ray Guns, and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys. New York: Dark House Books, 2001.
