The LEGO Space theme is one of the earliest and expansive themes that began in 1978 and features sets around features astronauts, spaceships, and extraterrestrial life. The first Space themes included an emphasis on space exploration with ships and basic wheeled vehicles and later consisted of more science fiction based sets which consisted of robots, small and large spaceships, and bases. The theme expanded over the years into various subthemes that included space factions and more story lines such as Futuron, Blacktron, Space Police, M:Tron, Spyrius, Unitron, Exploriens, Life on Mars, Alien Conquest and many more.
1999 LEGO Sets
1999 was a landmark year with the launch of LEGO Star Wars, the company’s first licensed theme, debuting alongside The Phantom Menace. This partnership with Lucasfilm transformed LEGO’s strategy and ushered in the era of licensed themes. New original lines included Rock Raiders, Slizers (Throwbots), and Adventurers: Jungle, while LEGO Education was formally established from LEGO Dacta. Several older themes—Cyberslam, TechPlay, UFO, Insectoids, Znap, and Model Team—were retired, marking a clear generational shift toward modern play concepts and digital engagement.