Why one incredible Lego set is about to inspire the next generation of female scientists

It was the campaign that strove to have the women of Nasa recognised in full... via their very own set of Lego figurines.

And now - in news that has pretty much made our day - the iconic toy company has agreed to get on board; manufacturing a set of five inspirational female engineers, mathematicians, and scientists. Hurrah! Maia Weinstock, a leading American science writer who created @legoNASAwomen, tweeted the good news after thousands of people got behind her idea.

Thrilled to finally share: @LegoNASAWomen has passed the @LEGOIdeas Review and will soon be a real LEGO set! https://t.co/rcyjANsVD9 pic.twitter.com/b9OVx5UBaL

— Maia Weinstock (@20tauri) February 28, 2017

And the move comes hot on the heels of the Oscar-nominated flick Hidden Figures, which details the previously untold story of three of Nasa's most influential and incredible people: Katherine G Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. Indeed, Katherine Johnson - a mathematician and Nasa researcher who helped calculate trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo programmes and who appeared on the Oscars stage on Sunday - features in the milestone Lego collection. Also included is Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who helped develop the flight software for the Apollo missions. The other women in the set are equally as impressive: Sally Ride was a physicist who eventually became the first American woman in Space in 1983; Nancy Grace Roman, also known as the 'Mother of Hubble' was an astronomer and Nasa executive, and Mae Jemison was a physician who became the first African-American woman in Space in 1992. The Lego set hopes to educate and inspire young girls around the world to be the next trailblazers in maths and science. There are no details yet of what the final design will look like, but the Women Of Nasa collection will likely  be on sale by the end of this year, or early next.