Science News Roundup: Space station's Italian commander, with lookalike Barbie, tells girls about science in orbit; Rocket builder Firefly nails crucial milestone with first mission success

Cristoforetti recently took time to describe some of the experiments conducted aboard the ISS, as well as answer questions from five girls 8 to 11 years old from across Europe.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Space station's Italian commander, with lookalike Barbie, tells girls about science in orbit

The first European female commander on the International Space Station, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, answered young girls' questions -- accompanied by a lookalike Barbie doll. Cristoforetti recently took time to describe some of the experiments conducted aboard the ISS, as well as answer questions from five girls 8 to 11 years old from across Europe. She and her spacesuit-clad Barbie floated in zero gravity, as she spoke.

Rocket builder Firefly nails crucial milestone with first mission success

Rocket builder Firefly Aerospace reached orbit for the first time this weekend, hitting a crucial milestone that kick-starts its launch business and opens new funding opportunities for growth, the company's chief executive said on Monday. Firefly, based near Austin, Texas, launched its two-stage Alpha rocket in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday from a U.S. Space Force base in Southern California, sending its first payloads into orbit after an initial attempt over a year ago failed mid-flight.