Estée Lauder is going to great lengths to create what is sure to be a viral social moment, sending its iconic Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex into space. The brand will be the first-ever beauty brand to participate in NASA’s efforts to enable business opportunities on the International Space Station. The product is scheduled to launch aboard a Cygnus spacecraft atop an Antares rocket on Northrop Grumman’s 14th commercial resupply services mission for NASA on September 29, 2020, and will arrive at the International Space Station on October 3, 2020.
“We are thrilled to reinforce our leadership once again as the first beauty brand to go into space,” said Stéphane de La Faverie, Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies, & Global Brand President, Estée Lauder. “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.”
“NASA is opening the International Space Station to business as part of the agency’s efforts to enable a robust low-Earth orbit economy,” said Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight Development at NASA Headquarters. “Agreements like these directly support NASA’s broad strategy to facilitate the commercialization of low-Earth orbit by U.S. entities by demonstrating new markets utilizing the unique environment of space.”
Boston-based Space Commerce Matters is said to have signed an agreement with NASA on behalf of Estée Lauder to send 10 bottles to the ISS. As part of the deal, NASA astronauts will spend more than four hours capturing images and film of the product. The deal is said to be worth $128,000, which covers a maximum 5kg load and astronaut time, which is charged at $17,500 per hour, New Scientist revealed.
This partnership continues NASA’s years-long push to encourage private-sector spending on space projects as the agency looks to stretch its budget. Initiatives include allowing the space station to be used for marketing and entertainment purposes. Astronauts will photograph the product in the space station’s iconic cupola window to create images for use on Estée Lauder’s social media platforms. The content will be of the product only as astronauts are prohibited from appearing in any marketing campaigns.
“We’re dedicating a modest amount of crew time—just 5%—to commercial and marketing activities because a robust commercial space economy will support national interests and our Congressional direction to transition ‘to a regime where NASA is one of many customers of a low-Earth orbit commercial human space flight enterprise,'” McAlister said in an emailed statement to CNN Business.
