Alyssa Carson

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Alyssa Carson
Alyssa Carson in 2015
Alyssa Carson in 2015
Born (2001-03-10) March 10, 2001 (age 23)[1]
Hammond, Louisiana, U.S.[1]
Education
Known forSpace enthusiasm
Scientific career
FieldsBiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Arkansas
Doctoral advisorTimothy Kral
Websitenasablueberry.com

Alyssa Carson (born March 10, 2001) is an American social media influencer and space enthusiast known for her ambition from a young age to be the first person on Mars. She has attended numerous space camps and has visited every NASA visitor center. She uses the social media branding NASABlueberry, but NASA has publicly stated she is not affiliated with NASA or any space program.

Early life and space interest[edit]

Carson was born on March 10, 2001, in Hammond, Louisiana.[1] She has been to 26 countries and speaks English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin.[2]

She became interested in space after watching an episode of The Backyardigans titled "Mission to Mars" before she was five years old.[2][3] Carson attended her first space camp in Huntsville, Alabama at age seven and went on to attend six more.[4][5] She remains the only person to attend every NASA space camp offered including those in Turkey and Canada.[6][7][8] The nickname Blueberry, referred to as a call sign, was selected at space camp.[4][9]

Mars New Year's Celebration
Mars New Year's Celebration

At 16, she participated in the Advanced PoSSUM (Project Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere) Space Academy at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, a citizen science astronautics program for high school and college students developed by the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences, a private education and research facility.[2][10][11][12] At 18, Carson earned her pilot's license. Her training has also included water survival, g force training, micro gravity flights, obtaining scuba certification, and decompression training.[2]

At 18, she attended a Sally Ride Summer Camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.[13] She told Teen Vogue she always thought she would, "become an astronaut, go to Mars, come back, and then be a teacher or the president."[14][3]

Education[edit]

She graduated from Baton Rouge International School, a private school.[15]

In 2023, she received her Bachelor of Science in astrobiology from the Florida Institute of Technology.[12] While in undergraduate school she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.[16] In 2022, she received the Florida Institute of Technology's Student Catalyst Award, highlighting women's participation and development in the school's community.[17]

She is a Doctor of Philosophy candidate at the University of Arkansas in the biology department under Timothy Kral.[18] She teaches an undergraduate microbiology lab.[19]

Media and social influence[edit]

In 2013, Carson was the first person to complete the "NASA Passport Program" visiting each of NASA's fourteen visitor centers across nine states. She was then invited to be a panelist at the MER (Mars Exploration Rover) 10 Panel at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.[20] She was featured by the BBC when she was 13 for her desire to be the first person on Mars.[21] She was featured as the Youngest Female Groundbreaker on the Steve Harvey talk show. She was featured in the 2017 documentary The Mars Generation.[22][23]

In 2019, Carson appeared on an episode of Ryan's Mystery Playdate.[24] She is also frequently interviewed to discuss her childhood goal of becoming an astronaut and traveling to Mars.[25][26] She has been involved with several space-related products, including "space luggage" designed by Horizn Studios, and participated in testing Final Frontier Design's spacesuit for the Canadian Space Agency headquarters.[27][2] She promotes footwear for Nike and home appliances for SodaStream.[28] She is a brand partner with Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, and Alpha Industries.[29]

Carson self-published So, You Want to Be an Astronaut in 2018[30] and Ready for Liftoff: Becoming an Astronaut of the Mars Generation in 2022.[29] She has written for The Independent.[31]

Carson has a popular Instagram account and a large Twitter (X) following.[2]

NASA and "astronaut in training" misinformation[edit]

While frequently described by the media as an "astronaut in training",[25][26] Carson is not affiliated with any national space program.[32][33] NASA has publicly stated that the organization "has no official ties to Alyssa Carson",[33] and separately that "although Ms. Carson uses ‘NASA' in her website name and Twitter and Instagram handles, we’re not affiliated at all."[34] In 2019 Newsweek corrected a headline that had implied that Carson's training was affiliated with NASA.[10] Snopes also has dedicated a page to clarify such claims, which says: "Carson is not in training with—or being prepped by—NASA to become an astronaut, or to take part in the first human mission to Mars."[35]

Awards[edit]

In 2017, Carson was named one of nine Louisiana Young Heroes, an award given to exceptional high school students by Louisiana Public Broadcasting.[36] In 2019, she received the Louisiana State University Women's Center Esprit de Femme Award, and is the youngest recipient of the award to date.[37] She was honored by Louisiana Life magazine as a 2020 Louisianan of the Year in the science category.[38]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Puterman, Shari (July 12, 2018). "Louisiana teen might be flying to Mars". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Jaramillo, Antonia (November 26, 2019). "The girl who dreams to live on Mars". Florida Today. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Krueger, Alyson (March 21, 2018). "This 17-Year-Old Is Already Training for a Trip to Mars". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Krueger, Alyson (March 21, 2018). "This 17-Year-Old Is Already Training for a Trip to Mars". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  5. ^ CBS News (October 3, 2014). "Teen trying to make an out-of-this-world dream a reality". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Secon, Holly. "A 19-year-old aspiring astronaut is the only person who's attended every space camp. She's already positioning herself for a mission to Mars". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  7. ^ Curtis, Cara (July 26, 2019). "[Best of 2019] Meet Alyssa Carson, the 18-year-old training to become the first human on Mars". The Next Web. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  8. ^ Branton, Vicky. "Back to school and beyond". The Daily Iberian. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  9. ^ DeMoss, Nick (March 12, 2020). "Future Mars Astronaut Visits Engineering Class". University of Arkansas News. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  10. ^ a b McCall, Rosie (October 17, 2019). "Alyssa Carson, the 18-year-old astronaut-in-training, would "consider" permanently relocating to Mars". Newsweek. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "Florida Tech students get a taste of space". The Florida Tech Crimson. November 16, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Alyssa Carson: Student-Astronaut in Training". The Florida Tech Crimson. September 26, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Alyssa Carson – Ambassadors – About Mars One". Mars One. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  14. ^ Sadeghi, McKenzie. "Fact check: Claim about Alyssa Carson preparing to go to Mars is missing context". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  15. ^ Lowery, Chris (February 23, 2018). "Could Baton Rouge teen Alyssa Carson end up on the first human mission to Mars?". The Advocate. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  16. ^ "2022 Award Winners | Florida Tech". www.fit.edu. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  17. ^ Lowenstein, Adam (February 26, 2022). "Florida Tech to Honor Amazing Women During Inspiring Success & Excellence Awards March 25". Space Coast Daily. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  18. ^ "Short Takes Features Doctoral Student Alyssa Carson and Her Love for Space". University of Arkansas News. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  19. ^ "Alyssa Carson at the University of Arkansas | Coursicle U of A". www.coursicle.com. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  20. ^ Biddlecombe, Sarah (October 16, 2019). "Mars mission: astronaut Alyssa Carson on flying to Mars". Stylist. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  21. ^ "Girl, 13, could be first human on Mars". BBC News. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (June 25, 2015). "Morgan Neville And Znak&Jones Partner On 'The Mars Generation'". Deadline. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "The First Human On Mars: Who Is 17 Year-Old Alyssa Carson? - Page 7". buzznet. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  24. ^ Knox, David (September 15, 2019). "Airdate: Ryan's Mystery Playdate | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Krueger, Alyson (March 21, 2018). "This 17-Year-Old Is Already Training for a Trip to Mars". Teen Vogue.
  26. ^ a b McLellan, Shannon (January 31, 2020). "World's youngest astronaut-in-training is part of Super Bowl ad". Good Morning America. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  27. ^ Santora, Sara (December 1, 2019). "Life on Mars? An interview with Alyssa Carson". Space Coast Living Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  28. ^ Stanley, T.L. (January 30, 2020). "Inside SodaStream's Epic Super Bowl Ad About Water on Mars". Adweek. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  29. ^ a b Ribner, Sonya (October 5, 2022). "It's not rocket science: Alyssa Carson on the journey to being an astronaut". Cherwell. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  30. ^ McCord, Brooke (September 25, 2019). "Meet your martian". The Face. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  31. ^ Carson, Alyssa (July 21, 2019). "The moon landing means everything to me as someone who wants to be the first person on Mars". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  32. ^ "Is NASA Training a 17-Year-Old Girl to Be an Astronaut?". Snopes.com.
  33. ^ a b Passaro, Passaro (July 20, 2018). "Is NASA prepping a 17 year old to become first human on Mars?". PolitiFact. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  34. ^ Lybrand, Holmes (July 23, 2018). "Fact Check: Is NASA 'Preparing This [Teenage] Girl To Become The First Human On Mars'?". Washington Examiner. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  35. ^ "Is NASA Training a 17-Year-Old Girl to Be an Astronaut?". Snopes.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  36. ^ "2017 Young Heroes". Louisiana Public Broadcasting. March 19, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  37. ^ Frost, Peter (March 29, 2019). "Alyssa Carson Receives the LSU Women's Center Esprit De Femme Award". Dig Baton Rouge. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  38. ^ DiPiazza, Dana (February 7, 2020). "Joe Burrow makes 2020 'Louisianians of the Year' list". WBRZ. Retrieved July 5, 2020.

External links[edit]

Scholia has a profile for Alyssa Carson (Q27628138).
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