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?" In 1998, Mattel released Space Camp Barbie (not in our collection), whose blue flight suit is much more in line with what actual astronauts were wearing during the 1990s. Based on popular Space Camp programs for children and teenagers, this doll was the first space-themed Barbie that wasn’t an astronaut. Unlike Astronaut Barbie, who represents a far-off future goal that children must wait to achieve until they are older, Space Camp Barbie represents a real and immediately attainable way for children to engage with and study space. 2000s and 2010s

Two Space Discovery Barbies “tour” the Vegetable Production System (Veggie) on the ISS. ( Image credit: Mattel) As it turns out, the two Barbie dolls that recently went on display at the Smithsonian are not the first to have flown into space, contrary to how they are described in the exhibit. The idea of a Barbie doll with two outfits – one for work and one for after work – was not unique to this doll. Mattel’s 1985 Day-to-Night Barbie was based around that exact concept. By day, this doll wore a pink blazer and pencil skirt and carried a pink briefcase. By night, she let her hair down (literally and metaphorically) and donned a sparkly pink evening gown.

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. 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. Barbie® Space Discovery™ dolls and toys inspire kids to let their imaginations blast off into space! Narrator: Hmm, not him, or him. But try telling a king that. Even though the king had tried and failed many times over, he was certain he was the one who would return the stars to their shimmering glory. He just needed a little help. So he recruited a team with special skills to join a mission to save the stars.

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. 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. First, though, Barbie had to be dressed for the part. Although Mattel released its first in a series of spacesuited Barbie dolls in 1965, the one that Denison was gifted was not an "Astronaut Barbie." Instead, the wife of one of Denison's fellow crew instructors sewed an orange jumpsuit and styled the doll's hair for the flight.

The playset features Barbie® space explorer doll, her puppy and more than 20 out-of-this-world pieces that inspire kids to explore and experiment. Miss Astronaut Barbie from 1965; Astronaut Barbie from 1985 and the Toys R Us Apollo 11 25th anniversary Barbie from 1994 as seen in the toys case at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. (Image credit: Smithsonian) 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. Make those playdates and parties sparkle with our wide selection of toys. From classics like Lego to crafty Play Doh you’ll find whatever you’re after in our playful and exciting range. 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.

After welcoming 1994’s Astronaut Barbie to Air and Space, the Museum went on a long Barbie-collecting hiatus that ended only recently with the addition of two dolls from 2021. Barbie, on the other hand, never rests. Between 2000 and 2020, seven total space-themed Barbie dolls were released. Most notably, Barbie did what no human has yet achieved and traveled to Mars! In 2013, Mars Explorer Barbie claimed the Red Planet for Barbieland. Clad in a white spacesuit with shimmery pink detailing, this doll perfectly blends the more realistic, practical styles of the 1960s and ‘90s with the hyperfeminine fashions of the 1980s. Now, in the same week that Barbie is launching onto the silver screen in a new movie starring Margot Robbie as the title character, the flown dolls are having a premiere of their own. (The timing of the exhibit's debut was not tied to the film's release.)

The forgotten story of the real first Barbie to fly into space (on a still-secret mission) | collectSPACE Open the set to reveal a workstation and turn the star pattern thumbwheel to switch between different space scenes in the space station window!

There's no mal intent for anybody. I just thought people might enjoy finding out there's a different story," Denison told collectSPACE. Over the past 57 years, Barbie's space wear has varied from fashion-forward to miniature replicas of the real thing. The first astronaut outfit, "Barbie Miss Astronaut" released in 1965, was inspired by the silverly suits worn by the Mercury astronauts. Twenty years later, Barbie modeled a bright pink and silver spacesuit "with sparkly skirt and tights." During this time, Mattel also released another iteration of Space Camp Barbie (2008) as well as two scientist dolls: Space Scientist Barbie (2017) and Astrophysicist Barbie (2019). Several space-themed dolls based on real women were also released, perhaps in an attempt to show young girls that their dreams aren’t only possible in Barbieland. Among these highlighted women are Katherine Johnson, a NASA mathematician who worked on the Mercury program; Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; and Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman in space. 2021: Space Discovery Barbie Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. In honor of these two new and very special additions to our collection, we are documenting Barbie’s long career as one of our nation’s foremost space explorers. 1960sThis box from 1994 Astronaut Barbie is in the Museum’s collection, along with the corresponding doll. This is our first chance to have Barbie in a spacesuit that depicts a spacesuit that women have actually worn. This is a spacesuit that is based on the Russian Sokol suits," Weitekamp said. "So we are now able to show a nice array of the ways that Barbie has allowed people to connect with the idea of going into space and then what is actually happening in spaceflight right now."