BUSTies, meet Alyssa Carson, your new role model. Although she’s only 13-years-old, Alyssa already has huge ambitions. She plans to be on the first human mission to Mars, which is predicted to take place in 2030. Despite her young age, Alyssa means serious business. She has gone to more than 20 space camp sessions and has become the first person to attend all three NASA world space camps. Alyssa studies space history and modern scientific developments. And despite her seemingly busy schedule, she has time to play soccer and piano. Did we forget to mention that she also speaks four languages?
Alyssa decided that she wanted to go to Mars at the ripe old age of 5: “I walked in on her in her bedroom and she’s sitting with a Mars map that I had given her,” her father told CBS News. “And I walk in and say, ‘Baby, what are you doing?’ and she said, ‘Well Daddy, when we get to Mars, I need to know where we are.’”
Alyssa told BBC that Mars interests her so much because “it’s a place no one has been.” She’s already racked up an impressive amount of accomplishments here on Earth, including meeting NASA administrator Charlie Bolden and astronauts at a Kennedy Center lunch and giving a TEDx talk in Greece. “I want more kids to dream and inspire to follow math and science because it takes 10s of 1000s of people to send an astronaut to space. I want my generation to be The Mars Generation!” she said at the talk. (Check it out below!)
Alyssa has already inspired us like crazy. We have no doubt that she will motivate the kids of her generation to reach for the stars. Literally.
With Charlie Bolden
Images via BBC and Makers
