Mattel introduced the Miss Astronaut Barbie doll in 1965, thirteen years before women were allowed to join NASA and before Sally Ride, who, among other astronauts, was honored with her own doll, became the first American woman in space in 1983. The first black astronaut doll came out in 1985.

The company continued to release space-themed Barbies, including Flight Time Barbie in 1989; Space Camp and a reproduction of this original in 2008; Mars Explorer in 2013; 'Space Scientist' in 2017; and 'Astrophysicist' in 2019. In 2021, the Barbie Space Discovery line featured two dolls who actually traveled aboard the Antares rocket in February 2022 and spent several months on the International Space Station (ISS). Except for a few, all the dolls and costumes were donated to the National Air and Space Museum by Mattel in 1995. Mattel has also created Barbie dolls modeled after real female astronauts to honor their achievements, including cosmonaut Anna Kikina, Katia Echazarreta, and Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.