In February 2022, two Barbie dolls responded to an unusual call: “Come on Barbie, let’s go party…..to space.” Dressed in white spacesuits, the pair spent a few months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) among real-life astronauts. Now that they’re back on Earth, the two astronaut Barbies are on display at the National Air and Space Museum as part of an exhibit dedicated to one of the doll’s most iconic look.
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum recently unveiled the latest addition to its collection of Astronaut Barbie, which now includes the only two dolls to have actually gone to space.
This particular pair of space-themed Barbie dolls didn’t just don their astronaut suits for fun, they put them to use as part of Mission DreamStar, a collaboration between the toy company Mattel and NASA that set out to encourage young girls to become astronauts and space scientists.
The astronaut Barbies launched aboard an Antares rocket in February 2022 and spent several months in microgravity on board the ISS. During their time in space, the dolls floated in the microgravity environment, touring the space station’s Veggie Garden, Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer, as well as the famous Cupola window that provides a breathtaking view of Earth below.
As part of the Barbie Space Discovery line, the two astronaut Barbies were dressed in white spacesuits with pink and blue detailing, white gloves, and white boots. Before going to space, however, the dolls had to pack light, leaving all of their accessories behind, and their hair had to be styled in a way to keep it from shedding in the spaceflight environment.
In addition to the two Barbies that went to space, the museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, also includes three other iterations of Astronaut Barbie: 1965 Miss Astronaut, 1985 Astronaut Barbie, and 1994 Moon landing Barbie.
Miss Astronaut was a pioneer, the first Barbie doll wearing a spacesuit was released 13 years before NASA started including women in its class of astronauts in 1978 and 18 years before Sally Ride became the first American woman to go to space in 1983.
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