Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents


                  arrow advertisements

NASA's Space Launch System lifts off on McDonald's Monopoly bags

October 8, 2025

— Do not pass, Go to McDonald's to see NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

The moon-bound booster is featured on the fast food chain's brown paper bags as one of the prizes you can win by playing Monopoly. The rocket is illustrated besides a Polaris off-road vehicle, Fanatics merchandise and Pickleball paddles.

No, NASA is not giving away a 322-foot-tall (98-meter) SLS, but with the right combination of game pieces, you can win a trip for you and up to three guests to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The 21 possible winners can book their trips throughout this year and next, meaning they could opt to use the prize to be at the targeted Feb. 5 launch of Artemis II, NASA's first flight with astronauts to return to the moon in more than 50 years.

"Collect Kentucky Avenue, Indiana Avenue and Illinois Avenue to potentially win a VIP tour and trip experience for four at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex," reads McDonald's Monopoly "Get Your Bag" website. "The approximate odds of collecting the potential winning combination are 1 in 3,119,992,100."

The NASA prize pack includes round-trip coach airplane seats for the winner and up to three guests; a three-night stay at a hotel; a gift card for three dinners for four; a pre-paid card for airport meals or snacks; a pre-paid gift card to purchase transport to and from airports and to and from Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; and food coupons for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks. The trip will also include an VIP tour experience of the visitor complex, a chat with a former astronaut, a self-guided tour of the center's attractions and a voucher for a $1000 shopping spree in The Space Shop.

The approximate retail value of the prize is $9,550, according to McDonald's.

The visitor complex generally charges extra for premium launch viewing tickets (which are not included in the prize) but NASA's plans to launch the Artemis II crew fall outside of the contest's blackout dates (Dec. 20, 2025 to Jan. 4, 2026). If the agency is not ready to fly on Feb. 5, there are other opportunities that month and on through to April when the 10-day mission out beyond the moon and back could begin.

The inclusion of the SLS marks the second time the rocket has been depicted in a McDonald's promotion. In 2019, the orange and white launch vehicle was reproduced as two of the Happy Meal toys featuring astronaut Snoopy. "Rocket Ride" was a pullback toy that had Snoopy and Woodstock riding on the SLS and its Orion spacecraft and "Take Off Launcher" was a spinning top that launched Snoopy from atop the booster.

The appearance of the SLS on products, outside of toys, models and gift shop souvenirs, is still rare when compared to how many times the space shuttle and NASA's prior moon rocket, the Saturn V, emerged in pop culture. Prior to this Monopoly promotion, perhaps the most prominent use of the SLS was among the graphics on boxes of General Mills' Lucky Charms cereal in 2021.

 


Get your bag! McDonald's Monopoly prizes include a trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a represented by the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. (collectSPACE)



McDonald's Monopoly players need to collect three properties to be eligible to win the trip to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (McDonald's)

back to collectSPACE
© 1999-2025 collectSPACE. All rights reserved.