meet NASA's american girl doll, the space-inspired luciana vega

inspiring a generation of girls through space travel has been a popular subject since the release of LEGO‘s women of nasa range, which shortly thereafter became amazon’s best-selling toy. following this success, NASA has announced a collaboration with toy company american girl to encourage children to dream big and reach for the stars.

images courtesy of american girl/NASA

american girl has worked with NASA and a panel of scientists and astronauts to make 11-year-old luciana vega, who aspires to be the first person to reach mars. they also contributed to an accompanying STEM-based educational program providing space simulations and quizzes in an american girl app and educational website. the company is also partnering with space camp to provide a luciana-themed program, which launches next summer.

the toy will come with its own maker station and mars habitat

among the women the company worked with were dr. megan mcarthur behnken, a NASA astronaut; dr. ellen stofan, former NASA chief scientist; dr. deborah barnhart, ceo of the US space and rocket center; and maureen o’brien, the manager of strategic alliances at NASA. ‘it is so important to find exciting new ways to inspire our next generation of space explorers,‘ megan mcarthur, nasa astronaut who serves on the project’s advisory board, said in a nasa blog post. ‘I always want to encourage girls and boys to pursue their dreams, no matter how big, and i think it helps to show how those dreams can become reality for any kid.‘

luciana vega will hit markets January 1, 2018

luciana will be available in stores from the first day of 2018. she comes with many STEM-inspired outfits, accessories and items displaying her experiences at space camp in huntsville where she got the chance to begin her journey to land on mars.

american girl consulted with NASA experts, including dr. megan mcarthur behnken, a NASA astronaut

a new chapter book series by erin teagan also chronicles luciana’s story