Alyssa Carson is 13 years old. And she made the headlines in 2014 by announcing her determination to be the first person to land on Mars. Wishful thinking? Well, NASA thinks she stands a chance. And she is already in training, becoming the first person to attend all three of NASA’s world space camps.
13-year old Alyssa Carson is using a video simulation to land a robotic explorer on Mars. At the moment, it’s the closest she or anybody else can get to the Red Planet. But for as long as she can remember, Alyssa has dreamed of being the first person to actually land on Mars.
It was calling me. I could just sense that I needed to go there. Something told me that that was my futuredestination.
Although a mission to Mars might be decades away, Alyssa is already in training. She’s completed several NASA space camps including one in Turkey.
At space camp, you train, eat, sleep. You live the life of an astronaut. Also, we do the MMU, which is themanned maneuvering unit. It’s kind of like a big jet pack. And also, you get to do a mission.
At the Baton Rouge International School, Alyssa is leaning French and several other languages including Chinese. And of course, she is studying science and math essential for her planned degrees in astrophysics and astrobiology.
I have never seen anyone as dedicated and passionate about their dream as this kid is about getting to Mars.
Bert Carson is Alyssa’s father, a single parent who has dedicated his life to fulfilling his daughter’s ambition. I’ve lived my life. I’ve, you know, had my fun all around the world. So now it’s her time. And it’s my job as her dad to support that and to be by her side and do whatever it is that she needs to support this dream.
Do you ever worry about her, worry about the fact she is putting so much into this, and it just might not happen?
I really don’t worry about it not happening because, you know, I do believe in destiny and fate. And obviously destiny has this road for her to go to Mars. It’s like it’s meant to be.
But what does NASA think of her chances?
Alyssa is a regular visitor to the NASA base in Mississippi.