Barbie has created a doll in honour of an astronaut as part of a campaign in Russia to encourage girls to aim high while also being &#...
Barbie has created a doll in honour of an astronaut as part of a campaign in Russia to encourage girls to aim high while also being 'feminine'.
Anna Kikina, 36, is currently the sole Russian woman scheduled to travel into orbit, 58 years after Valentina Tereshkova became the world's first spacewoman.
The married cosmonaut - slated to blast off on her maiden flight by the end of next year - posed with the doll which was modelled on her.
The Russian space agency claimed the cosmonaut Barbie shows that 'any dream can come true - you just need to believe in yourself and move forward'.
Anna Kikina (pictured), 36, is currently the sole Russian woman scheduled to travel into orbit, 58 years after Valentina Tereshkova became the world's first spacewoman
Mantel made two different Barbie dolls as part of a campaign in Russia to encourage girls to aim high, in one the doll wears a space suit while in the other it wears the blue suit
The lookalike doll features a white astronaut suit as well as a jet blue jumpsuit, and is modelled after Anna's looks.
The space agency said: 'A striking example of this is the story of Anna Kikina, an engineer girl who once dared to take a bold step and try her hand at astronautics.'
'Today Anna is a role model for many. She is both strong and feminine, bold and gentle, wise and with an excellent sense of humour - a bright personality in which professionalism and warmth are harmoniously combined.'
The agency, Roscosmos, asked: 'Who said that conquering the vastness of the Universe is not a woman's business?'
The married cosmonaut - slated to blast off on her maiden flight by the end of next year - posed with the doll which was modelled on her
Cosmonaut Kikina was trained as an engineer for emergency situations but also worked as a host on Radio Siberia, with hobbies of white-water rafting and parachuting
Despite this, only four of 124 Soviet or Russian cosmonauts have been female.
Cosmonaut Kikina was trained as an engineer for emergency situations but also worked as a host on Radio Siberia, with hobbies of white-water rafting and parachuting.
She said: 'I am pleased to become one of the role models for Barbie.
'I believe that my example will show girls that their dreams are realisable and to become what you want is absolutely feasible. You just have to go for it.'
As a child she had 'no dream' of going into space, she admitted: 'If I had had a Barbie cosmonaut doll, then the idea of becoming an astronaut would probably have arisen in my head even then.'
The doll, which is not for sale, highlights that 'everyone has a chance' to go to space. She said: 'It is not necessary that every girl playing with such a Barbie wants to become an astronaut.
'The most important thing is that they all know that they have a choice, they have the right to choose - any profession that they like.'
Yet she is now the only woman in the cosmonaut corps.
'It's not boring for me,' she said. 'But it would be better if there were more women.
'Earth is home to so many women and men, yet for some reason there's only one woman in the corps.
'I hope and believe that the next selection, which is already underway, will pick more women.'
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