Inspire imaginations to blast off to new worlds with the Barbie® Space Discovery™ Space Station playset. Launch play with the Barbie® space explorer doll, her puppy and more than 20 out-of-this-world pieces that inspire kids to explore and experiment! The set opens to reveal a workstation -- rotate the star pattern thumbwheel to switch between different space "scenes." Accessories include a chair, test tubes, microscope, plant experiment, laptop, astronaut food, plus items for the puppy like a puppy bed and food bowl. Doll cannot stand alone. Colors and decorations may vary. Makes a great gift for kids 3 to 7 years old. As it happened, the same person who sewed Barbie's custom spacesuit went on to work for the National Archives, where in 1999 she helped arrange for the doll to be temporarily displayed at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Kansas, in conjunction with an exhibit celebrating 40 years of Barbie.

Another Barbie resembling European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is set to launch to the space station with her real-life counterpart later this month. Programs Learning resources Plan a field trip Educator professional development Education monthly themeSince 2019, Mattel has honored real-life astronauts with Barbie dolls bearing their likeness. Part of the brand's Inspiring Women series, Barbie dolls have been styled after first American woman in space Sally Ride and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The pair of "Space Discovery" dolls that debuted July 18 at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia were indeed launched into orbit in 2022, and were the first Barbie dolls that Mattel — the toy company behind the iconic fashion figure brand — arranged to fly. But another Barbie made the trip 32 years earlier aboard a still-classified space shuttle mission and today it sits in the home of its original owner.

Kids can build a universe and collect other Barbie® Space Discovery™ toys to fuel even more storytelling and role-play fun! There is perhaps no résumé in existence quite as long as Barbie’s. Known for her endless list of careers, Barbie has decades of experience in business, medicine, modeling, and just about any other industry you can imagine. After all, the intention behind Barbie was that she would allow girls to imagine themselves as young adults. And if you are imagining possible careers, why not think big? Two Barbie dolls from Mattel's Space Discovery line spent several months on the International Space Station in March 2022. (Image credit: Mattel) In 2021, Mattel released its most recent astronaut doll with the Barbie Space Discovery line. This version of astronaut Barbie wears a white spacesuit with pink and blue detailing, white gloves, and white boots. The best part about this doll is that it's actually been to space! This is the version of Barbie that was chosen for Mattel’s Mission DreamStar expedition to the International Space Station in 2022. Mattel did not know about Barbie being aboard STS-38 at the time, but learned of the doll's mission a couple of years later, when the company highlighted the flight in a newsletter for its employees. "Another impressive coup for a Barbie doll," the 1992 issue of Mattel Matters read, "the only question now is, what's left?"The first two Barbie dolls to fly in space, part of Mattel's "Space Discovery" line, are seen on display the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, after spending several months aboard the International Space Station in 2022. (Smithsonian) Since then, the doll has remained at Denison's home, which may be why Mattel, NASA, the Smithsonian and just about everyone else forgot about Barbie's actual first spaceflight. Not that Denison has any hard feelings about the subject. The Barbie dolls now in space are expected to return to Earth this summer, when they will be sent to the Smithsonian to go on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents But what sets these two very-well-traveled dolls apart may be less important than why they are just like all the other Barbies in children's hands, Weitekamp said. The dolls are off-the-shelf, rather than being custom made or dressed for space.

The new additions differ from their previous counterparts in a few ways, beyond having spent time in space. Two of the iconic fashion dolls are now on board the International Space Station (ISS), where they are part of "Mission DreamStar," an outreach project to inspire girls to consider careers in aerospace and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. As revealed by Mattel on Thursday (April 14), the dolls have been in Earth orbit since February as part of a collaboration between the toy company and the ISS U.S. National Laboratory.The National Air and Space Museum on Tuesday (July 18) debuted on display the first-ever Barbie dolls to actually fly into space. The two fashion figures spent several months on board the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022 as part of "Mission DreamStar," a joint outreach project by Mattel and the ISS U.S. National Laboratory. The dolls were then donated by the toy company to the Smithsonian. Blast off to new worlds with the Barbie® Space Discovery™ Space Station playset and inspire imaginations!