While the entire space industry is looking for ways to colonize Mars, the big question of who shall be the first human to set foot on our neighbouring planet might have been answered recently. As per reports on the Internet, Alyssa Carson, a teenager from Louisiana, US might be the first person to ever walk the surface of the Red Planet. The probability of that happening is further propelled by the fact that the 17-year-old is already training to become an astronaut and has completed NASA Passport Program, having visited all the NASA Visitor Centres across the US.
Although Alyssa Carson cannot apply for NASA's astronaut training program until she turns 18, the teenager is well on her way to be the perfect candidate for the US space agency's first manned mission to Mars, which is due to take off on 2033. In her interview with TeenVogue, Alyssa stated how she was always obsessed with Mars explorations: “I started watching videos of rovers landing on Mars. I had a gigantic map of Mars in my room I would look at. We started getting telescopes so we could look at space," she said.
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To date, Alyssa has undergone training for microgravity and oxygen deprivation. She is learning three extra languages in addition: French, Chinese and Spanish. She is also the youngest person to graduate from Advanced Possum Academy, technically making her certified to go into space.
As for other future plans, Alyssa also eyes to become a teacher or the president one day. "But the way I always thought about it was I would become an astronaut, go to Mars, come back, and then be a teacher or the president" she states.
So what are the extremes that she will have to face if she becomes the first person to make history? The obstacles range anywhere from lethal solar radiation to extremely low atmospheric pressure on the surface of the Red Planet. The technology needed to survive most of these hardships is yet to be developed and only time will tell how soon the space agency is ready to send this ambitious teenager to Mars, if ever. As per NASA, one of the most dangerous weather challenges on the planet will be the regularly occurring dust storms that generally take place in the southern spring and summer. These storms can grow humongous in size, so much so that they encompass the entire planet.
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