Photo courtesy of Mattel, Inc.
Not even the sky’s the limit for Jupiter, Fla., native Kellie Gerardi. In 2023, she launched into space with Virgin Galactic to research how the human body and fluids behave in microgravity.
“Human spaceflight was simply part of the backdrop of my childhood,” says the research astronaut, payload specialist and director of human spaceflight operations at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. “I remember standing outside with my family watching the sky light up. I knew I wanted to be a part of that world one day.”
On her next mission, she’ll focus on women’s health, and she has her sights set on the moon.
“Returning to the moon and creating a sustained human presence there feels like the next meaningful step for human space exploration,” she explains, “and there’s a tidal wave of science waiting to benefit from expanded access to space.”
When she’s not reaching for the stars, the 37-year-old mother teaches her young children that their dreams are limitless. After an eight-year struggle with secondary infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, Gerardi welcomed her second daughter, Maxine Quinn, in April. She and her husband, Steven Baumruk, are also parents to 8-year-old Delta Victoria, who, Gerardi says, thinks “flying to space is just another thing moms do.”
Still, Gerardi scored the ultimate cool-mom points last March, when Mattel released a doll in her likeness as part of its Barbie Dream Team collection for International Women’s Day.
“It’s such a full-circle moment,” Gerardi says. “Barbie has always represented possibility, and to now be part of that for the next generation is incredibly meaningful. Every little girl who sees this Barbie is part of a generation who will grow up knowing that astronauts can look like her, and that a woman can be a scientist, a mother and a creative.”
Gerardi’s out-of-this-world life has earned her a social media audience of nearly 2.5 million followers across platforms, with 44 million likes on TikTok alone. She’s using that reach for good, by establishing and funding an IVF grant program with the Baby Quest Foundation. Thanks to Babylist matching her donation, the program will fully fund IVF cycles for two women — a process that can cost more than $20,000 per cycle.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to honor the birth of my baby,” Gerardi says, “than giving more families the chance and the means to continue fighting for their dream family as well.”