Alyssa Carson Explained

Alyssa Carson
Birth Date:10 March 2001
Birth Place:Hammond, Louisiana, U.S.
Fields:Biology
Workplaces:University of Arkansas
Education:
Doctoral Advisor:Timothy Kral
Known For:Space enthusiasm

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

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

Carson attended her first space camp in Huntsville, Alabama at age seven and went on to attend six more.[3] [4] She remains the only person to attend each space camp in the United States, Turkey and Canada[5] [6] [7] where she chose the callsign "blueberry" which she uses in her social media branding.[8] At 18, she attended a Sally Ride Summer Camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.[9] She participated in the Advanced PoSSUM (Project Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere) Space Academy at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University at age 16, 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.[10] [11] At 18, Carson earned her pilot's license, joining less than 4% licensed pilots in the United States[12] . She has also sought out training in water survival, g force training, micro gravity flights, obtaining scuba certification, and decompression training.

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."[13]

Education

She graduated from Baton Rouge International School, a private school.[14]

In 2023, she received her Bachelor of Science in astrobiology from the Florida Institute of Technology.[15] 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

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] 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. She has written for The Independent.[31]

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

NASA and "astronaut in training" misinformation

While frequently described by the media as an "astronaut in training", Carson is not an astronaut in training or otherwise. She is not affiliated with any national space program.[32] [33] NASA has publicly stated that the organization "has no official ties to Alyssa Carson", 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. 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

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]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Puterman . Shari . July 12, 2018 . Louisiana teen might be flying to Mars . June 27, 2020 . The Daily Advertiser . en.
  2. Web site: Jaramillo . Antonia . November 26, 2019 . The girl who dreams to live on Mars . July 5, 2020 . Florida Today . en-US.
  3. Web site: Krueger . Alyson . March 21, 2018 . This 17-Year-Old Is Already Training for a Trip to Mars . June 27, 2020 . Teen Vogue . en-us.
  4. Web site: CBS News . October 3, 2014 . Teen trying to make an out-of-this-world dream a reality . June 27, 2020 . www.cbsnews.com . en.
  5. Web site: 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. . August 3, 2020 . Business Insider.
  6. Web site: Curtis . Cara . July 26, 2019 . [Best of 2019] Meet Alyssa Carson, the 18-year-old training to become the first human on Mars ]. June 27, 2020 . The Next Web . en-us.
  7. Web site: Branton . Vicky . Back to school and beyond . August 3, 2020 . The Daily Iberian . en.
  8. Web site: DeMoss . Nick . March 12, 2020 . Future Mars Astronaut Visits Engineering Class . June 27, 2020 . University of Arkansas News.
  9. Web site: Alyssa Carson – Ambassadors – About Mars One . August 3, 2020 . Mars One . en.
  10. Web site: McCall . Rosie . October 17, 2019 . Alyssa Carson, the 18-year-old astronaut-in-training, would "consider" permanently relocating to Mars . January 17, 2024 . Newsweek.
  11. Web site: 2022-11-16 . Florida Tech students get a taste of space . 2024-06-02 . The Florida Tech Crimson . en.
  12. Web site: Institute . Pilot . 2020-02-14 . Average Age Statistics of Pilots: Are We in a Pilot Shortage? . 2024-08-19 . Pilot Institute . en-US.
  13. Web site: Sadeghi . McKenzie . Fact check: Claim about Alyssa Carson preparing to go to Mars is missing context . 2024-06-02 . USA TODAY . en-US.
  14. Web site: Lowery . Chris . February 23, 2018 . Could Baton Rouge teen Alyssa Carson end up on the first human mission to Mars? . June 27, 2020 . The Advocate . en.
  15. Web site: 2022-09-26 . Alyssa Carson: Student-Astronaut in Training . 2024-02-28 . The Florida Tech Crimson . en.
  16. Web site: 2022 Award Winners Florida Tech . 2024-06-02 . www.fit.edu.
  17. Web site: Lowenstein . Adam . February 26, 2022 . Florida Tech to Honor Amazing Women During Inspiring Success & Excellence Awards March 25 . February 26, 2022 . Space Coast Daily.
  18. Web site: Short Takes Features Doctoral Student Alyssa Carson and Her Love for Space . 2024-06-02 . University of Arkansas News . en.
  19. Web site: Alyssa Carson at the University of Arkansas Coursicle U of A . 2024-06-02 . www.coursicle.com . en.
  20. Web site: Biddlecombe . Sarah . October 16, 2019 . Mars mission: astronaut Alyssa Carson on flying to Mars . June 27, 2020 . Stylist . en.
  21. News: Girl, 13, could be first human on Mars . 2024-06-02 . BBC News . en-GB.
  22. Web site: Petski . Denise . June 25, 2015 . Morgan Neville And Znak&Jones Partner On 'The Mars Generation' . July 5, 2020 . Deadline . en.
  23. Web site: July 20, 2018 . The First Human On Mars: Who Is 17 Year-Old Alyssa Carson? - Page 7 . July 5, 2020 . buzznet.
  24. Web site: Knox . David . September 15, 2019 . Airdate: Ryan's Mystery Playdate TV Tonight . July 5, 2020 . tvtonight.com.au . en-AU.
  25. Web site: Krueger . Alyson . March 21, 2018 . This 17-Year-Old Is Already Training for a Trip to Mars . Teen Vogue.
  26. Web site: McLellan . Shannon . January 31, 2020 . World's youngest astronaut-in-training is part of Super Bowl ad . January 17, 2024 . Good Morning America.
  27. Web site: Santora . Sara . December 1, 2019 . Life on Mars? An interview with Alyssa Carson . June 27, 2020 . Space Coast Living Magazine . en-US.
  28. Web site: Stanley . T.L. . January 30, 2020 . Inside SodaStream's Epic Super Bowl Ad About Water on Mars . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200715115307/https://www.adweek.com/creativity/inside-sodastreams-epic-super-bowl-ad-about-water-on-mars/ . July 15, 2020 . August 8, 2020 . Adweek.
  29. Web site: Ribner . Sonya . 2022-10-05 . It’s not rocket science: Alyssa Carson on the journey to being an astronaut . 2024-06-02 . Cherwell . en-GB.
  30. Web site: McCord . Brooke . September 25, 2019 . Meet your martian . July 5, 2020 . The Face . en-gb.
  31. Web site: Carson . Alyssa . July 21, 2019 . The moon landing means everything to me as someone who wants to be the first person on Mars . limited . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190721171620/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/moon-landing-anniversary-apollo-11-mars-artemis-alyssa-carson-a9014296.html . July 21, 2019 . June 27, 2020 . The Independent . en.
  32. Web site: Is NASA Training a 17-Year-Old Girl to Be an Astronaut? . Snopes.com.
  33. Web site: Passaro . Passaro . July 20, 2018 . Is NASA prepping a 17 year old to become first human on Mars? . January 17, 2024 . PolitiFact.
  34. Web site: Lybrand . Holmes . July 23, 2018 . Fact Check: Is NASA 'Preparing This [Teenage] Girl To Become The First Human On Mars'? ]. January 17, 2024 . Washington Examiner.
  35. Web site: Is NASA Training a 17-Year-Old Girl to Be an Astronaut? . February 19, 2021 . Snopes.com . en-US.
  36. Web site: March 19, 2018 . 2017 Young Heroes . July 5, 2020 . Louisiana Public Broadcasting . en.
  37. Web site: Frost . Peter . March 29, 2019 . Alyssa Carson Receives the LSU Women's Center Esprit De Femme Award . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200707050111/https://digbr.com/alyssa-carson-receives-the-lsu-womens-center-esprit-de-femme-award/ . July 7, 2020 . July 5, 2020 . Dig Baton Rouge . en-US.
  38. Web site: DiPiazza . Dana . February 7, 2020 . Joe Burrow makes 2020 'Louisianians of the Year' list . July 5, 2020 . WBRZ . en.

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