Okay, so here's the scoop:

NASA are going to be launching the Atlas V rocket this Friday and on board, there will be 3 custom made Lego figures representing the Roman Gods Juno and Jupiter, as well as scientist Galileo.
Apparently the NASA scientists working on the project are huge fans of Lego, and approached the company with the idea of putting Lego figures in space.

Here's the crazy thing... Lego then went ahead and custom built 3 aluminium figure for NASA at a cost of $5,000 each! A bill that was even footed by Lego. The reason? Well, according to Lego, they feel that by putting the figures into space, it will promote such programs to children.
Now, let me ask you: What child needs any MORE excuses to love sending rockets into space?

Personally I think it's a way for Lego to sell a ton of space related Lego sets that will more than cover the $15,000 they spent on 3 little men. But hey, it's Lego, so who cares?
You check out the voyage of the figures at www.legospace.com.

VIA Geekosystem