Jens also created the LEGO Space theme, designing the first space sets 358 Rocket Base and 367 Moon Landing. At the time, it was difficult to make a lot of colour changes, and grey LEGO elements were not considered bright enough to be the main colour in a toy, so after some experimentation, Jens decided that blue looked technical enough, and the sets were produced with this colour predominant.
Later in 1978 and 1979, LEGO was rushing to get LEGO space and the minifigure ("LEGO men", as they were referred to by the company) onto store shelves as soon as possible, to be the first space-oriented construction toy on the market. The LEGO Group pushed Space sets onto American store shelves in 1978, more than six months before originally planned. In 1979, LEGO debuted the Space line at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, being a huge success, and voted "European Toy of the Year 1979". The success of the new line of products helped LEGO to hire 500 extra production employees that year, and earned Jens a promotion to Chief Designer. He would serve this role up until his retirement in 2000.
https://lego.fandom.com/wiki/Jens_Nygaard_Knudsen 
