Three months after the original release of the new space series, Lego provided us with another fine addition to this great array of sets. This was a must-have for me, of course, even though the set itself did not look that promising at first. The concept of releasing additional sets a few months later is quite appealing, at least to me, since it keeps you hooked on the series and the theme fresh.

Parts

This set has some nice parts to it, starting with the obvious large transparent black quarter-dome window-parts, which are unique to this set in this particular color. We also get the well-known "energy cell"-parts, trans-violet-opal 1x1 round bricks, as well as some leaves in medium-lilac, which are also rather rare, having only been used in two other sets. Other interesting parts are trans-reddish bricks (1x1) and sloped bricks (1x1) and pink frogs, which (again, like with the Orchid) serve as some kind of buds or flower parts. The set makes decent use of stickers, a total of seven has to be applied.

Minifigures

Three minifigures have found their way into this set. We have a female astronaut with blue gear, a dark blue pilot's helmet and some sort of facial tattoo, which we also saw with the pilot of the Interstellar Spaceship. The second minifigure is an astronaut with green gear and helmet, a face with long sideburns and a wheelchair. The third, pretty unique minifigure is a small alien with three eyes, a tiny survival suit and a blue helmet.
There's only little gear for the minifigures, a cup and a brick-built microscope, that's it.

The build

Four instruction booklets cover the building process. Each one has one of the four walls of the building.
The first one covers the small vehicle for the wheelchair, which closely resembles the 30663 Hoverbike (check my review!) from the same series, and the wall section with the main entrance gate.
The second booklet has the wall section with the hatch to connect the lab to the 60434 Space Base (check my review!) via a module. Also, the extraterrestrial "tree" in the center of the structure is built in this step.
Number three has the "accommodation area" with a bed, a cupboard and a shower cell. There are also some windows included to view the planetary surface before taking a nap.
The section covered in booklet number four has another hatch, but this one connects to the driving docking station for the small hover vehicle. On the inside there's a small laboratory area.
Each section is rather repetitive in build, nothing really complicated. The large quarter-dome-windows are fixed in their place. They cannot be opened. Each section is linked to the other with clips after their individual building process.

The completed model

The finished building has a nice, futuristic shape. A golden handlebar and an additional sticker show where it can be opened. Upon doing so, you can access the alien "tree" and the interior of the laboratory. The "tree" consists mainly of dark orange bricks, some transparent bricks and slopes and black "branches" with colorful "buds".
The main access gate has a brick-built pattern of gray and black stripes, just like the one from the 60434 set. On the inside wall of this section are two monitors (stickers). Next to the door is the mandatory energy cell connector.
The first hatch has a large door to the outside, again resembling the one from the 60434 set. On the inside, it connects to a small patch of ground which holds the "tree" in the middle of the lab.
The third section, as mentioned above, has a spartan living area and an arrangement of four trans-dark windows.
The fourth section with the connection to the charging module for the wheelchair-hoverbike has two more monitors (stickers) on the inside, as well as a microscope and a small table that holds an energy cell. The charging station itself has a separate dual energy cell and makes use of a warm-golden radiator grille, to hint the power lines, the same technique as used in the 60433 Modular Space Station (check my review!). The hoverbike itself has two adjustable propulsion devices, a transparent monitor and a sensor/lights-array to the front. The wheelchair fits nicely into the vehicle.
The trans-dark dome atop the laboratory closes up rather tightly, small gaps at the top of the building are covered with a round white plate.

Overall opinion

While writing the review, it came to my mind that this lab in its overall construction is quite a realistic design! The four individual wall sections, which open up completely, might not only be that way for better playability, but are supposed to be the actual use of an extraterrestrial mobile research facility. Imagine something huge like the alien "tree", which you want to analyze thoroughly. So you don't carry a ton of equipment there, you just drop a mobile lab right above/around it! And when you're finished researching, you just take it away again and probably connect it to the main base, so the researchers can share their research in person with the rest of the team. Isn't that quite a cool idea?!
What's more to this set? Of course, the super-cute tiny alien in the space suit, which is all-new to this set!! Again, how nice to see peaceful togetherness with the extraterrestrials and them even joining the explorers! Furthermore, there are some good parts for MOCs, like the dome-windows, a lot of triangular tiles and bricks in various transparent colors (pink, purple...). Also, there are only a few stickers, which I personally welcome.
What kept this set from getting a full five stars from me was the lackluster design of the interior and the absence of gear for the researchers. Also, on its own, the playability is rather limited.
So, if you own some more sets of this series, especially number 60434, then this is a great addition to what you have. On its own, it is rather underwhelming, though it still has a nice design and fits nicely in the whole space-theme overall.

I'm a sucker for modular LEGO sets. When I first saw the 2024 City Space sets I was slightly interested in them but not fully committed to collecting them. Then I saw how incredibly modular these sets are with the pods that can be connected to rockets, bases and other pieces of Space equipment. At that point I decided to open my wallet

The Science Lab is the perfect modular expansion to the Space Base, featuring matching designs and the modularity to create one very large space outpost when combined with other sets. I would say that if you own the Space Base, this set is a must-have.

Unfortunately the modularity comes at the expense of other features. This Lab has four walls, three of which are taken up by large doors which leave very little room for other play features. And one of the walls is a living area, leaving the actual Lab equipment to take up two very small corners. The main central area is taken up with an alien structure. I would not have called this building a Lab so much as an Alien Structure Container With Living Area.

Of the minifigures, the pilot commander has already been seen in the very fine Interstellar Spaceship. I'm not sure what the logic is in repeating this figure in a more expensive set that does not even involve transportation other than the speeder which is custom designed for the wheelchair user. It would have made more sense to include the science commander who is only otherwise available in the much more expensive Modular Space Station.

The other human figure is okay but not particularly noteworthy. It is nice to see a wheelchair user in an accessible Space set like this but beyond this the figure is just a regular science figure with a new head. It would have been nice to see an exclusive torso for this figure, maybe one that includes custom accessibility features, or at least an alternative hat or hairpiece so he does not need to sleep in his helmet.

I enjoy that the alien life form is now part of the space force. I'm not sure whether they plan to continue these City Space sets in the future but it would be nice to see what happens next with these little aliens.

The centre of the Lab is taken up with a large alien structure. Personally I would have preferred to see the Lab to Alien Structure ratio reversed, with the Lab taking up the bulk of the inside and the alien structure taking up only a corner. I do not especially love the alien structures in these sets as they just seem a bit random. I am sure it would have been possible to design aesthetically pleasing alien structures, maybe they could have got some Friends designers involved.

Overall I would not consider purchasing this set if you do not own any of the other City Space sets, but would highly recommend it if you own some of the others, especially the Space Base.