Estee Lauder Is First Beauty Brand To Go Into Space In NASA’s Push For Space Economy

Estee Lauder will have the claim of becoming the first-ever beauty brand to go into space as part of NASA’s push for commercializing low-Earth orbit explorations. The luxury brand will send 10 bottles of its Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex brand to space aboard a Cygnus spacecraft.

The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to launch atop an Antares rocket from Northrop Grumman's 14th commercial resupply services. According to the press release posted on the company website, the breakthrough launch is set to happen on Sept. 29, 2020. The bottles will arrive at the International Space Station on Oct. 3, 2020.

“NASA is at the forefront of space exploration, and as a leader in skincare innovation, Estée Lauder is proud to support the incredible work NASA is doing to promote a space economy by being the second-ever commercial product to launch,” The Estee Lauder Companies Group President and Global Brand President Stéphanie de La Faverie, said in the news release.

Estee Lauder is paying NASA $128,000 for the initiative, Bloomberg reported. The initiative will involve taking pictures of Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair with the view of the space in the background.

The makeup company will use the photos for its social media marketing activities on Earth. Most importantly, the luxury brand will auction one bottle for charity as soon as they are back to Earth.

NASA has first announced the opening of the ISS to businesses in 2019. At the time, the space agency highlighted that the decision comes as it plans to land the first woman and next man on the Moon for the Artemis mission in 2024.

To date, more than 50 companies have been doing research on commercial nature via the ISS, NASA said in June 2019 news release. The space agency has also been working with 10 other companies to install more than 14 commercial facilities to support the initiative.

NASA is not alone in the pursuit of making an economic gain from space explorations. Several private companies have also been vocal in their development of infrastructure to make space tourism viable. Most recently, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX have been sounding plans of bringing private passengers for leisurely trips to space. Both companies have their eyes set for a 2021 launch.