To celebrate the worldwide release of the film Project Hail Mary, a team of engineers and space enthusiasts launched a LEGO set nearly 22 miles into the stratosphere using a high-altitude balloon, broke a Guinness World Record in the process, and brought the whole thing safely back to Earth. The LEGO Icons Project Hail Mary set, which includes a replica of the film’s interstellar spacecraft along with minifigures of astronaut Ryland Grace and his extraterrestrial companion Rocky, was secured to a custom-built platform by the aerospace company Sent Into Space and lifted off from Gwynedd County in Wales on March 20, 2026. Fitted with onboard cameras and a GPS tracker, the set climbed for hours through the thinning atmosphere until it reached a peak altitude of 114,790 feet, well above the layer of clouds where weather happens, with Earth’s curvature visible and the darkness of space just above. It then spiraled back down and was recovered in full, earning Guinness World Records certification for the highest altitude launch and retrieval of a LEGO set ever achieved.
The video footage of the journey, showing the tiny plastic spacecraft floating against the blackness of near-space with the blue arc of Earth below, became an instant hit online. The filmmakers said the stunt was designed to capture the spirit of the story, which follows a lone astronaut on an impossible mission, and they noted that the engineering effort required to plan, execute, and recover the record attempt was no small feat in its own right. The directors of Project Hail Mary were later presented with the official Guinness World Records certificate at an event in Las Vegas. Sent Into Space called it one of the most fun and memorable projects their team had ever worked on.
