Rejoice, interlocking block enthusiasts and fans of infamous NASA mohawk guy: LEGO has just announced that it will be producing a Mars Curiosity Rover replica that children and lovable nerds can erect in the comfort of their own homes.

The LEGO model was created by Stephen Pakbaz, a mechanical engineer who worked on Curiosity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and is a LEGO enthusiast. The design reached the final round of LEGO's fan-backed vote and beat out a Portal project and a pretty rad UCS Sandcrawler to get the green light for production.

Pakbaz combined his first-hand experience with his LEGO hobby to create a LEGO model that was as faithful to the actual rover as possible in terms of accuracy, details, and mechanical function, all in the civic-minded name of science:

The primary purpose of this effort has been to contribute to the educational outreach for this incredible mission. It is my hope that this model encourages the public support that is integral to the continued development and exploration of outer space.

No word yet on cost or when the LEGO rover will be available, but we're hoping it'll be here by the holidays so we can win the which-relative-gives-the-coolest-gifts prize from various nieces, nephews and eccentric uncles.

[PC Mag]