This question was inspired by a recent Neatorama post on Toy Story trivia. (15 years ) There you can read the following about Buzz Lightyear:
That is not only astonishingly wrong. It also piqued my curiosity.NASA likes him, too – on May 31, 2008, a Buzz accompanied the real-life astronauts of the space Shuttle Discovery on a mission. He docked with the International Space Station and became the first toy to walk on the moon.
What was the first toy figure in space? I am looking for something that depicts some kind being -- a doll, action figure, stuffed animal...
I know that at least on some missions there were various little nick-nacks on board that were intended as souvenirs.
To get things started, the East German Little Sandman and the Soviet doll Mashenka were on Salyut 6 in 1978.