Mars Rover Curiosity Becomes A Hot Wheels Car

As NASA landed the Mars Rover Curiosity on the Red Planet, an interest in space exploration was born. Need proof? Check out the Hot Wheels selection next time you go to the toy store.

The classic toy car maker recently released a miniature version of the Mars Rover Curiosity, allowing kids to explore the martian surface along their living room floor.

According to Nerd Approved, the 1:64 scale version of NASA’s Curiosity Rover will be part of Hot Wheel’s 2012 collection. There isn’t a release date at the moment, but the NASA inspired vehicle is expected to hit store shelves this year.

Mattel writes:

“To commemorate the Mars Rover Curiosity created by NASA/JPL-Caltech, Hot Wheels created a 1:64 version… Curiosity carries many tools such as a drill, cameras and a laser. Its mission [is] to see if Mars could have ever supported small life forms called microbes… or if humans could explore there some day!”

According to Collect Space, the Mars Curiosity Rover is the first NASA mission to get a Mattel product since 1999. In 1997, Hot Wheel’s created the “JPL Sojourner Mars Rover Action Pack Set.” The toy was such a hit that Hot Wheels created toys based on the Jupiter-orbiting Galileo probe and a set about the Apollo moon landings. Mattel also created toys for three failed spacecrafts in 1999 for NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter, Deep Space 2 Microprobe, and Mars Polar Lander.