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Alyssa Carson, from Louisiana, wants to be the first person on Mars

THIS 13-year-old girl has been training to be an astronaut for nine years and is determined to become the first person to land on Mars.

Network Writers
less than 2 min read
October 11, 2014 - 12:51AM
News Corp Australia
11102014Alyssa
11102014Alyssa

THIS 13-year-old girl has been training to be an astronaut for nine years and is determined to become the first person to land on Mars.

Alyssa Carson is the first person to have attended all three of NASA’s world space camps.

The Louisiana teenager speaks Spanish, French and Chinese, and is prolific on social media.

She told the BBC that she wants to inspire other children to achieve their dreams.

“I have thought about possibly being other things but being an astronaut was always first on my list,” she said. “I don’t want one obstacle in the way to stop me from going to Mars ... Failure is not an option”.

And NASA is not discounting her ambitions. Her call sign at the US space agency is “Blueberry”.

“She is of the perfect age to one day become an astronaut and eventually travel to Mars,” NASA’s Paul Foremantold the BBC. “She is doing the right thing, she is doing the right training, taking all the right steps to actually become an astronaut.”

Bret Carson, Alyssa’s dad, said he has spoken to his daughter about the possibility that she may never return from Mars but he says she isn’t worried about that.

“We have the next 20 years planned out, we know what she’s doing, she’s looking at going on a mission to mars in 2033,” he said. “In 20 years I may not ever see her again, there are options out there where they go to mars and not come back, and we’ve had those discussions, and if that’s the only option she still wants to go.”

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/alyssa-carson-from-louisiana-wants-to-be-the-first-person-on-mars/news-story/2ba78b045092fa41b1894d841edb8af8