Perseverance, the roving robot, has made a safe landing on Mars. That’s good news for 19-year-old Alyssa Carson, who has dreamed of becoming the first human on the red planet since she was 3. She told WoW! how she aims to make her dream come true.
It’s important to listen to our dreams. They help us see what makes us different from other people and also help us see what can make us happy. But making dreams come true isn’t easy.
Alyssa works hard to learn things that will help her get to Mars; she does less of some things she enjoys so as to focus on her dream; and she says ‘Never give up!’ Going to Mars now seems very possible…
You can learn more about Alyssa Carson at her website, https://nasablueberry.com/, and her social media feeds. And hear Alyssa explain how she’s gone about working toward her dream in one of numerous lectures and interview. This is her, at 18, giving a TEDx talk in Austria.
There’s of course no certainty that Alyssa will be selected to join NASA’s astronaut corps, nor to join its mission to put humans on Mars in the 2030s. But her story is one of remarkable dedication to following a childhood dream – and she is an impressive advocate for children of their own abilities to learn fast.
Alyssa has a slogan for kids she says should be grabbing opportunities to learn and setting themselves up to change the world: “We are the Mars generation!” She suggests that, as space missions get longer and venture farther, astronauts who’re not fully trained until they’re in their 30s or 40s may be too old for the job. If only, she says, NASA started their training by the age of 10…
For more from space from WoW!, check out our stories on Jessica Meir, who made history on a mission last year to the International Space Station, and whose ambition, in the next few years, is to be the first woman on the Moon :
First woman on the Moon? – podcast
WoW! introduces children aged 8-12 to fixers, problem-solvers and changemakers, inspiring the new generation with a world of possibility.