AstroBox Fall 2016 Subscription Box Review

AstroBox is a quarterly space & astronomy discovery box for all ages, and the Fall 2016 box just landed safely in my hands, to much excitement! I. Love. Space. I’ve had a chance to review some boxes with space/astronomy themes before, but never a box dedicated SOLEYL to the big wide universe beyond our little third rock from the sun. (I was one of the people outraged when they declassified Pluto as a planet, okay?) I am the living embodiment of the Space Core from Portal 2.

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!

The Fall box arrived only a few short days after the OSIRIS-REx mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida! On board the Atlas V, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will approach the asteroid Bennu in August 2018 and bring back samples to Earth for us to study and learn more about our solar system. The mission is plotted out with such detail that OSIRIS-REx isn’t scheduled to return until 2023!

Naturally, the Fall box is going to include content about the mission, asteroids, meteorites, and other interesting things…

The contents are all laid out with lots of useful information! I’m super excited to see an Expedition 49 crew patch!

The OSIRIS-REx mission is detailed here; you can see that it’s not just NASA contributing to the mission — the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) also contributed their science to the project as well.

One of the articles is about different kinds of meteorites.

XTronaut: The Game of Solar System Exploration Um… did they send me a board game about space?

No, seriously, I love board games, and so a board game about space is pretty much proof this box was made for me. This game is simple enough for Ages 7 and up to grasp, but involved enough that you really have to keep on your toes!

This game was designed by Dante Lauretta, who is actually the leader of the OSIRIS-REx mission — so you know it’s going to have that awesome attention to detail. I am so excited to play this; my girlfriends and I have been getting together for our own board game night every so often through the summer, so it’ll be nice to play something other than Las Vegas and Cards Against Humanity!

Planetary Disk II Print Wow, this painting is made of both digital and traditional components by artist Lynette Cook. Her art has been featured in publications by NASA, the BBC, Discovery Channel, and many more. Since it’s hard for us to know exactly how things look beyond a certain point in the visible universe, using the data we do have is one of the things she’s required to do in order to create these beautiful interpretations of the galaxy!

Expedition 49 Crew Patch I admit it, this is probably my favourite thing in the box even if it’s not the biggest. I have a jean jacket I’m planning on covering in patches like Ace in Doctor Who, and I have a few space-themed patches already, but I always wanted an official crew patch! Expedition 49 launches end of September to the International Space Station!

Meteorite Sample This sample is over 4 billion years old. It’s hard to conceive something like that even when you’re holding it in your hand. This piece was found in the Sahara desert, which is rich in samples because they are easy to spot against the sand landscape.

I Need More Space Stickers Ha, these stickers made me giggle — I’m definitely someone who needs more space, both the science kind and the personal kind!

OSIRIS-REx Shirt Okay, this shirt is actually one of the softest tees I’ve gotten in a box. It’s pretty geeky, but I love it.

AstroBox is a love letter to the world beyond Earth — and I love that everything was appropriate for all ages, whether you’re a young kid craving an extra dose of science in school, or an adult interested in learning more. I’m most excited about the board game and the crew patch, but everything is awesome and my space shelf is filling up quite nicely with the addition of the print and meteorite sample!

What did you think of the Fall AstroBox? Get $5 off your first box with coupon code  HELLO5.

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