Barbie that's been to space to go on show for the first time

This Barbie is inspiring young girls to reach for the stars

While she's usually known for being in a Barbie world, one Barbie that's been all the way to space and back is set to go on display for the first time.

It's part of an upcoming exhibition at London's Design Museum to mark the 65th anniversary of the famous doll brand.

This doll is based on European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Europe's first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS), Samantha Cristoforetti. The Space Barbie spent six months orbiting the Earth with her in 2022.

Toy company Mattel, which makes Barbie, and the ESA released the Samantha Cristoforetti Barbie doll in 2021 as part of World Space Week. The aim was to encourage girls to become the next generation of astronauts, engineers and space scientists.

What happened when Barbie and Samantha Cristoforetti went to space?

Barbie has a long history with space travel

Samantha is an Italian astronaut and a former air force fighter pilot.

In April 2022, she returned to the ISS for her second mission. During this time she carried out her first spacewalk, becoming the first European woman to do so.

While in space, Samantha answered questions from five young girls, including why she wanted to become an astronaut. Video footage of the conversations will be shown in Barbie: The Exhibition alongside the doll.

Samantha said it was 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".

Miss Astronaut Barbie with Ken

The Samantha Cristoforetti doll will highlight Barbie's long history with space travel.

A silver all-in-one "Miss Astronaut" costume is on loan from the Mattel archives in Los Angeles. It's described as "Barbie's first depiction as an astronaut" and was released in 1965.

Another doll on display will be Barbie showing off her science skills in a metallic pink spacesuit from 1985. Its release followed astronaut and physicist Sally Ride making history in 1983, when she became the first American woman to go into space.

When was Barbie first invented?

A Barbie was made for space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE to celebrate International Women's Day and British Science week last year

Barbie was first launched in 1959 by creator Ruth Handler. She wanted her daughter Barbara to have female dolls to play with that could help inspire her to follow her dreams.

The exhibition will tell the story of the pink-loving doll throughout the decades.

A first edition doll will be on display that's known as the "Number 1 Barbie". It's a classic blonde Barbie in a black-and-white bathing suit and features holes in the feet where it would have been fixed to a stand.

Other dolls will include "surfer girl" Sunset Malibu Barbie from 1971 and Day to Night Barbie from 1985, which saw her pink work suit transform into an evening gown.

Two examples of 1992's Totally Hair Barbie, which featured the doll with extra long hair that could be styled, will also be on show.