Yesterday it was astromech legs, today it’s astromech heads!

I know that sometimes the same set gets released with different numbers for various reasons (regional differences, poly bag vs. boxed, rereleases, etc.), but I think this is the first time I've seen both set numbers listed, unless you count the Classic Space ships that had the European set number on the model in all markets. Is the image of the instructions, not the box? That would make sense to me.

Awww, it’s so cute.

@Miyakan said:
"It's on Mars. Less air resistance and gravity makes it easier to build and maintain speed."

It's on Mars. Less gravity means less traction. Tiny vehicle means less weight means less traction. Shiny-smooth bulbs for wheels means no traction. A pebble is all it'd take to grind that thing to a halt, or at least send it tumbling...perhaps over a cliff.

@NotProfessorWhymzi said:
" @Miyakan said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"I have no idea how it's supposed to be able to move that fast over rough terrain with zero traction on hard wheels. It's not like it has a jet engine or anything. Maybe the pic is rotated 90 degrees CCW, and this guy is actually falling over a cliff?"

It's on Mars. Less air resistance and gravity makes it easier to build and maintain speed."

so, theoretically, would my lawnmower be able to do a 6-second quarter-mile?"

Hard to quantify. What kind of lawn mower do you have? If it's one from Whacky Wheels then probably. Just stay clear of hedgehogs.

Goin' so fast the visor got pushed up the helmet. Oops.

"And he got some: Green Ali-gat-ors, and some Loooooong Necked Geese, some Humpty-Backed Cam...els???"...Oh sorry: wrong Rovers:D

We've had Curiosity and Perseverance, I'm guessing this one is Acceleration judging by the speed lines

I always thought it's confusing that the LOM-assistant doesn't wear gloves. Or airtanks. Had to buy additional black hands and airtanks for my LOM/MM collection.

Fun small little set. You've got to love that it even comes with a forward-facing antenna, and those wheels were an NPU for the time.

And no, this tiny little set from a toy theme about a group of humans going to Mars to meet aliens with mechs that can instantly combine with their earth vehicles is not 100% NASA-certified realistic.
Who would have thought given the context clues?

From his apparent speed he's clearly fleeing a lawman beating up the wrong guy. Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know.

Go Speed Racer, go!!

This set (whichever one of the two set numbers I actually have) had the dubious distinction of housing the dullest fig in my childhood: Assistant 2.

I already had an Assistant, already having 7310 Mono Jet. And he was pretty boring (nothing in the "name" of "Assistant" was helping him), but at least he was the original. This guy was the redux, and driving an exceptionally unexciting rover.

He still sets the standard in my lore for "blank slate."

Typical example of a "Budget Version" of a Minifigure as is common with polybags. Instead of the Chrome blue visor the "Full Version" of Assistant has, here he comes with the less interesting trans-blue one.

@Binnekamp: I don't think it's an antenna, I think it's a sensor dish. But yes, it's a pretty good model considering what it is and when it was made.

If space were to get revived,what would they do?

@TheOtherMike said:
"I know that sometimes the same set gets released with different numbers for various reasons (regional differences, poly bag vs. boxed, rereleases, etc.), but I think this is the first time I've seen both set numbers listed, unless you count the Classic Space ships that had the European set number on the model in all markets. Is the image of the instructions, not the box? That would make sense to me."

Also see 1413.

@TheOtherMike Bricklink mostly uses images of the instructions, as their quality tends to be higher.

Now, that you mentioned it: today's random set is the collection entry, not the single-packing version.

@jkb:
Interns gotta earn their upgrades!

@Ridgeheart:
On the contrary, it’s a statement that will last the rest of his life, and more.

@PurpleDave said:
" @jkb:
Interns gotta earn their upgrades!"

Wait, what?? You have to EARN protective gear? c0

@560heliport:
Back when my LUG used to do Moonbase displays, and we needed random filler to, you know, fill the layout, I whipped up a “regolith grader”, which looked very similar to a riding lawnmower. Except, you know, on the moon.

@jkb:
Do you know how expensive it is to get a pound of gear to Mars? You can’t just hand that stuff out to any random person, who might wander off and die someplace, and then you’re out all the gear they took with them.

@Formendacil said:
"I already had an Assistant, already having 7310 Mono Jet. And he was pretty boring (nothing in the "name" of "Assistant" was helping him), but at least he was the original. This guy was the redux, and driving an exceptionally unexciting rover.

He still sets the standard in my lore for "blank slate.""

Come to think of it, did Assistant have a role in any of the official Life on Mars story media? I still haven't got around to reading the in-character radio log entries from the website, so maybe he was featured in them. But from what I remember, he didn't appear in the Lego World Club comics, the UK Lego Adventures magazine comics, the Mars level of Racers 2, or the Legoland live performance (although admittedly, the latter featured the very trimmed down cast of only three characters total). He seems to have been entirely absent.

Did he have story significance in any media that I missed? Or was he entirely a sets-only character?

@ThatBionicleGuy said:
"Did he have story significance in any media that I missed? Or was he entirely a sets-only character?"

He was there, in the background. Doing intern things like bringing coffee. Nobody noticed him, unfortunately.

Having recently read what has survived of the website, I'm pretty sure he didn't have much of a role, if any. I don't recall the intern being mentioned at least.