Alyssa Carson is an American space enthusiast who became widely known as one of the youngest people to openly declare a goal of going to Mars. Born in 2001, she developed an interest in space as a child and attended her first space camp at age 7. Over time, she attended numerous NASA space camps around the world, participated in robotics programs and astronaut training, and became an active advocate for space exploration.
She is often associated with the image of the “first person on Mars,” although she is not officially a NASA astronaut—she did not qualify for the NASA program. Instead, Alyssa has participated in various private initiatives, such as Project PoSSUM, where she conducted high-altitude research and training simulations. She has also given TEDx talks, written a book, and gained a large following as a speaker and “space influencer.” She has repeatedly spoken about the possibility of a mission to Mars without a return trip. Due to the distance, time, and enormous expense, the first expeditions could be “one-way trips,” with astronauts forced to live and build on the planet without returning to Earth. Alyssa has stated that she is prepared for this, considering such a step part of humanity’s great leap into space.
