After 60 years of dressing like an astronaut, Barbie has released into the real world.
There are currently two of the movie dolls on board the International Space Station (ISS), where they are part of “Mission DreamStar,” an advocacy program that encourages girls to consider careers in aerospace and aerospace. Science, engineering, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. As Mattel reported on Friday (April 14), the babies have been in Earth orbit since February as part of a partnership between the game team and the ISS U.S. National Laboratory.
“Barbie has a long history of exploring the sky, she was introduced to an astronaut baby in 1965 before a man stepped on the moon, so Barbie’s focus was on the sky. for a while!” Lisa McKnight, executive president and world head of Barbie and Babies at Mattel, said in an interview with collectSPACE.com. “With the launch of our Space Discovery line at Target, this year marks the perfect time to take on this critical moment and send Barbie back into space and the ISS.”
In pictures: Barbie and the exploration of the sky: The image of the astronaut doll (photos)
As revealed in the recently released special episode of the online video series “You Can Be Anything”, two different Barbie babies were captured floating in a multi-windowed Cupola of the space returned by the Earth below. They were accompanied by NASA astronaut Kayla Barron, a member of the site’s Expedition 67 team, as she explained some of the research done in the orbiting space, including the Veggie and Astrobee plants. free-floating robots.
“Every day, we do science and engineering research here,” Barron said in the video, which also features NASA astronaut Raja Chari.
“Did you dream about what it was like to go outside? I know I got it!” said Barbie during the event.
The two babies that were sent into space are modeled after astronauts and cosmonauts sitting on the field. Each was dressed in a one -piece suit similar to the Sokol press clothes used by sailors to take off and land on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.
“Barbie’s shiny clothes, helmets and gloves incorporate sparkles from the real skies seen on the ISS, with signature red accents,” McKnight said. “We’re excited that the kids can play with the Space Discovery dolls like the ones in orbit to make their game more imaginative.”
Over the past 57 years, Barbie’s casual clothing has been different from the usual — before small copies of the real thing. The first astronaut costume, “Barbie Miss Astronaut” released in 1965, was inspired by the silver costumes worn by Mercury astronauts. Twenty years later, Barbie compared a bright red dress and a pink dress “with a red dress and ruffles.”
Since 2019, Mattel has been honoring real -life astronauts with Barbie babies as their own. Part of the brand’s Inspiring Women series, the Barbie babies are named after the first American woman in the sky Sally Ride and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
A Barbie -like European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is set to launch space with her real life partner later this month.
“While away from Mission DreamStar, we look forward to Samantha’s departure and continuing to celebrate STEM,” McKnight told collectSPACE. “Samantha Cristoforetti’s baby continues the story of Barbie with space and the brand’s vision is to encourage girls to become a new generation of astronauts, engineers and space scientists.”
Barbie babies are now expected to return to Earth this summer, when they are sent to the Smithsonian to attend an exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. .
The Space Discovery line, currently for sale only at Target, has Barbie babies as they have been released on stage, as well as the babies of Barbie’s friends dressed in wide -brimmed clothes and with related players.
“Barbie’s idea is to remind girls that they can be something. By giving a glimpse into the ISS through real life astronauts, Barbie is proud to encourage children to consider careers in aerospace and STEM, ”McKnight said.
Click to collectSPACE.com for more pictures of Barbie Dolls on the International Space Station.
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