Set 497, Galaxy Explorer, released in 1979, was the flagship of the original Lego Space universe, portraying a large passenger/cargo spaceship with its landing pad on the lunar surface. At 338 pieces and four astronaut minifigures (two red, two white), sprawling over two 25cmx25cm baseplates, this is a spectacular set, with a list price ($32 in 1979 dollars) to match.

Set 497 was the US-market designation; in Europe, the same set was sold as Set 928, Space Cruiser and Moonbase, and the European set number 928 is imprinted on the sides of the spaceship. It is interesting to note that in the US market, the "Space Cruiser" designation was instead used on Set 487, which was a smaller, simpler, cheaper version of Galaxy Explorer.

Finding a complete Galaxy Explorer is considered the holy grail of vintage Lego Space collecting, and I was able to score one on eBay in March 2013. While the set is complete and the price fair, many pieces do have signs of yellowing from excessive sun exposure, one 6x6 light gray tile has an edge that has cracked off, and one 1x3 black tile was replaced by three 1x1 black tiles. The incorrect and damaged parts can easily be replaced, however, since they are common standard Lego parts.