Celebrate World Space Week 2025 with Airfix

From 4^th – 10^th October, scientists and admirers around the world celebrate World Space Week. This international event recognises the contributions of space science and technology and is the largest annual space event in the world.

As a brand obsessed with innovative engineering and potential model kit subjects, we call on our loyal community of model-makers to celebrate with us. Nothing inspires nostalgia more than the famous moon landing and nothing fascinates scientists more than the thought of going to space.

Whether you’re a history boffin or someone with a sharp focus on the future, you can’t help but be in awe of space technology.

The story of space exploration – told through Airfix models

Our current range of space plastic model kits focuses on some of the most iconic machines of space travel past and present.

Saturn V, for example, was the heavy lift rocket that landed on the moon back in 1969. That was the first time humankind had ever set foot on the moon, but there were 15 of these rockets built in total, to be used in various Apollo missions. Apollo 11 was the successful team, made up of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

The team at NASA got straight back to work, designing a partially reusable, Low Earth Orbital (LEO) space transportation system to allow more astronauts to travel into space and reduce the amount of waste involved in space engineering. The resulting Space Shuttle was used in 39 missions, proving reusable space travel was achievable.

And the technology is still advancing, with SLS Artemis primed and ready for space travel at the next convenient opportunity. This is NASA’s most powerful rocket launch system yet and has already completed an unmanned mission.

When the manned mission launches in 2026, the astronauts will sit in the Orion Crew Module near the top of the rocket. Everything else is part of the Space Launch System (SLS) that will be discarded as the spacecraft reaches certain points in its journey. That includes the upper stage, the huge core stage and two rocket boosters, all of which are essential to get Artemis out of Earth’s atmosphere and into space.

It is engineering marvels like this that make celebrating World Space Week such a joy, highlighting how far space exploration has come since Apollo. We will be watching the story of SLS Artemis closely, and can’t wait to see it finally launch.

The Airfix Space range: Build icons of exploration

Our Saturn V and Space Shuttle Gift Sets are both re-releases of popular plastic scale model kits from the past, in 1:144 scale. As with all our gift sets, they come with all the paints, glue, brushes, and decals you need to complete your build, as well as easy-to-follow instructions.

Our SLS Artemis Gift Set is a newly tooled plastic model kit in the same scale. Standing 77cm tall and with 79 pieces to assemble, all these gift sets will appeal to more advanced modellers with a space focus.

These scale model kits offer the perfect way to celebrate World Space Week 2025 in the comfort of your own home. You can explore the universe from your workbench.

Airfix and World Space Week

The aim of World Space Week is to inspire the space engineers of tomorrow and garner public support for the missions to come. It also helps to boost international cooperation for the space programme, so that countries can come together to create memorable historic moments, instead of competing.

Every year has a different space theme, and in 2025, it is ‘Living in Space’. Although this still seems like something for a future generation, the possibility of creating communities on other planets is still something scientists are aiming for.

Obviously, Airfix model making is not on the same level as building a real-life rocket, but it is a pleasing substitute, educating, inspiring, and connecting model-makers to history and the future. 

In the meantime, explore all the Airfix space model kits and bring the universe to your workbench this World Space Week!