The Lego Group, Sweden, provided three 1.5-inch figurines milled out of a single block of aluminum to ride to Jupiter on the Juno spacecraft: the astronomer Galileo, and the Greek gods Juno and Jupiter. The Juno figure holds a magnifying glass to signify her search for the truth, while Jupiter holds a lightning bolt. Galileo holds both a model of the planet and his telescope.
The figurines were milled out of a single block of aluminum rather than plastic, in order to allow the figures to withstand the extreme temperatures encountered during the journey.
The Lego figurines have set records for the fastest-traveling Legos on record. The spacecraft blasted away from Earth in 2011, and reached Jupiter five years later, on July 4.
The Lego pieces are part of a joint agreement between the Lego company and NASA that is aimed at engaging the public in science education. The space agency is encouraging the public to use Lego pieces to construct models of the future of space exploration, and submit these to NASA as part of a competition.
You can read the 2011 Lego news release here: http://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2011/august/lego-minifigures-on-a-mission-to-promote-space-research
Many other sites report on the Lego figures. Here are two.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/6/12105878/nasa-juno-mission-aluminum-lego-figures-jupiter
