Teen traveling to space: High school student trains for chance to visit Mars

WEBVTT BE ON ONE OF THE FIRST MISSIONS TO MARS. SULA: FROM ONE SMALL STEP FOR MANKIND, TO A GIGANTIC LEAP FOR WOMEN. A LOUISIANA TEEN IS PREPARING TO BECOME THE FIRST HUMAN TO SET FOOT ON MARS. ALYSSA CARSON HAS ALWAYS DREAMED OF GOING TO SPACE. NOW SHE IS WORKING TO MAKE THAT DREAM A REALITY. MICHAEL VINNSENEAU SPOKE WITH THE TEEN AND HAS MORE DETAILS. MICHAEL: 17-YEAR-OLD ALYSSA CARSON HAS BEEN TRAINING TO BE AN ASTRONAUT HER ENTIRE LIFE. HER AGE MAY HOLD HER BACK FROM SOME TRAININGS, BUT SHE SAYS, IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIM HEARING THAT COUNTDOWN HAS BEEN THE LIFELONG DREAM FOR ALYSSA CARSON, SEEMINGLY EVER SINCE SHE WAS BORN IN HAMMOND. A CARTOON AS A THREE-YEAR-OLD PEAKED HER INTEREST, AND MUCH LIKE ASTRONAUTS, SHE NEVER LOOKED BACK. >> AS I GOT OLDER, MY DAD BROUGHT ME TO SPACE CAMP, AND MY PASSIONS EXPLODED. I WAS WALKING AROUND, GOT TO SEE ROCKETS. MICHAEL: FROM THOSE CAMPS ON, WHAT SEEMED TO BE A PIPE DREAM, TURNED REALITY. CARSON, NOW AS A 17-YEAR-OLD , BELIEVES SHE WILL BE THE YOUNGEST ASTRONAUT EVER, AND HOPEFULLY THE FIRST ON MARS IN THE NEXT 15 YEARS. >> GROWING UP AND DOING THESE THINGS HAVE GIVEN ME AN ADVANTAGE. I AM TRYING TO MAKE MYSELF SEEM UNIQUE. IF YOU GO THROUGH SOMETHING AS SELECTIVE AS THAT, THERE ARE 18,000 KIDS, THEY WILL PICK ABOUT 12. MICHAEL: MAKE NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. CARSON, OR BLUEBERRY AS SHE’S CALLED, HAS LIVED A DOUBLE LIFE, AS AN ASTRONAUT IN TRAINING, AND AS A TEENAGER. >> SHE IS TWO KIDS, SHE IS DEAD SET ON MAKING THE TRIP. I HAVE MADE SURE SHE HAD A BALANCED LIFE. SHE IS TAKING BALLET, PIANO, GIRL SCOUTS. MICHAEL: AND SHES FLUENT IN FOUR LANGUAGES AS WELL. SHE MAY HOPE TO BE AN ASTRONAUT SOMEDAY, BUT FOR NOW, HER DAD THINKS SHE’S A ROLE MODEL MORE THAN ANYTHING. >> JUST FOR THE FACT OF HOW SHE CAN RELATE TO KIDS, WHETHER THEY ARE THREE YEARS OLD, OR COLLEGE. SHE HAS SPOKEN TO THE WIDE VARIETY. SHE GETS ON THEIR LEVEL, NO MATTER WHAT AGE THEY ARE. MICHAEL: MAKING A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE OUT OF AIMING FOR THE MOON, OR MARS, AND FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS. IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, SHE PLANS ON TRAINING WITH ESA, THAT’S EUROPE’S VERSION OF NASA. NEXT YEAR, SHE PLANS ON ATTENDING COLLEGE IN FLORIDA, STUDYING ASTRO BIOLOGY

Most upcoming high school seniors are preparing for college or maybe the senior prom, not space travel. Then again, Hammond-born Alyssa Carson is not like most seniors.Ever since she saw a space depicted in cartoons at 3 years old, Carson has had her sights set on becoming an astronaut, specifically the first person on Mars.Over the past few years, Carson or Blueberry, as she's called, has attended space training and even spoken at symposiums with NASA."My dad brought me to space camp in Huntsville, Alabama and there my passion exploded," Carson said. "I was walking around. I saw life-sized rockets. I got to be in simulators and experienced that."She believes that she is the most qualified teenager in the world to travel to space."I think that growing up and doing all these things have given me a little bit of an advantage. I'm basically trying to make myself seem unique, because when you go to the astronaut selection process there's 18,000 candidates and they are going to pick 12."Her father has supported her dream from its inception, but made sure that she enjoyed her teenage years."She's two kids," Bert Carson said. "She is dead set on this trip and has put in a lot of hard work every day on it, but I have made sure that she has had a balanced life too. She has taken ballet and piano and Girl Scouts."She is also fluent in French, Spanish and Chinese.Carson is planning on traveling into space in the next two to three years, which would make her the youngest astronaut ever. In the early 2030s, she wants to be aboard the first spaceship to land on Mars.Before that happens, she must finish her senior year. Next year, she plans on attending the Florida Institute of Technology, because that is the only school that offers an undergraduate degree in astrobiology.Upon graduation, she plans on getting her a doctoral degree and then applying to the astronaut selection process. Her father believes that her lofty goals and determination have made her a role model for many."She can relate to kids, whether they are 3 or they are in college. She has spoken and got on their level, no matter what age they are," her father said.Carson brings real-life meaning to the phrase "reaching for the moon," or Mars in this case, in pursuit of your dreams.

PEARLINGTON, Miss. —

Most upcoming high school seniors are preparing for college or maybe the senior prom, not space travel. Then again, Hammond-born Alyssa Carson is not like most seniors.

Ever since she saw a space depicted in cartoons at 3 years old, Carson has had her sights set on becoming an astronaut, specifically the first person on Mars.

Over the past few years, Carson or Blueberry, as she's called, has attended space training and even spoken at symposiums with NASA.

"My dad brought me to space camp in Huntsville, Alabama and there my passion exploded," Carson said. "I was walking around. I saw life-sized rockets. I got to be in simulators and experienced that."

She believes that she is the most qualified teenager in the world to travel to space.

"I think that growing up and doing all these things have given me a little bit of an advantage. I'm basically trying to make myself seem unique, because when you go to the astronaut selection process there's 18,000 candidates and they are going to pick 12."

Her father has supported her dream from its inception, but made sure that she enjoyed her teenage years.

"She's two kids," Bert Carson said. "She is dead set on this trip and has put in a lot of hard work every day on it, but I have made sure that she has had a balanced life too. She has taken ballet and piano and Girl Scouts."

She is also fluent in French, Spanish and Chinese.

Carson is planning on traveling into space in the next two to three years, which would make her the youngest astronaut ever. In the early 2030s, she wants to be aboard the first spaceship to land on Mars.

Before that happens, she must finish her senior year. Next year, she plans on attending the Florida Institute of Technology, because that is the only school that offers an undergraduate degree in astrobiology.

Upon graduation, she plans on getting her a doctoral degree and then applying to the astronaut selection process. Her father believes that her lofty goals and determination have made her a role model for many.

"She can relate to kids, whether they are 3 or they are in college. She has spoken and got on their level, no matter what age they are," her father said.

Carson brings real-life meaning to the phrase "reaching for the moon," or Mars in this case, in pursuit of your dreams.

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