By: Nina He

Everyone’s heard of Barbie. Created by Ruth Handler in 1959 for her daughter, there have been more than 200 different types. Barbie has inspired thousands of girls to reach for the stars. And now, she’s taken that literally.

How many people reading this article have gone to space? Probably none, because only 658 people had actually been there. 659 if you include Barbie. Yes, that Barbie!

Designed after Europe’s first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS), Samantha Cristoforetti, this Barbie has made it to space and back. The doll, released in 2021 during space week as a way to encourage girls to go to space, spent 6 months orbiting Earth with this former air force fighter pilot in 2022. The Barbie, fresh from her return from space, will be displayed at the exhibition at London’s Design Museum for the first time to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Barbie dolls.

Cristoforetti says that this is an “opportunity to reach out to girls and boys to share the experience of an astronaut as a potential path in life, as a potential future, as a potential career… or as an adventure that you can be part of.”

Speaking of adventures, Cristoforetti has been on quite a few. Born in Milan in 1977, this 47-year-old used to hold the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut. She’s also known for being the first person to make a TikTok video on the International Space Station.

She also graduated in Aeronautics Sciences at the Italian Accademia Aeronautica in Pozzuoli, becoming one of the first women to be a lieutenant and fighter pilot in the Italian Air Force.