This tops a list of things I really don't want to do, thanks.

The article is a bit misleading. Nasa isn't specifically training Alyssa Carson to be an astronaut. What she is doing is great and she may well become an astronaut but the majority of the activities listed are open to any young person interested in space. The Nasa Passport Program is a visitor promotion where you get coupons, discounts and a commemorative stamp for each visitor center you visit. Possum Space Academy is a 4-5 day space camp aimed at kids. It's a fancy, expensive space camp but a space camp. The impressive part is that she got in as the Advanced Possum Academy is for college-aged students. The girl is brilliant and may be the first on Mars, but at the moment, she's not on Nasa's payroll and is just a young lady interested in becoming an astronaut.

Ok, this whole thing about humans moving to mars to "save our species" is annoying. If you want to be on mars, groovy. But can't we just learn to, I dunno, coexist with the rest of Earth? Seriously, we don't want to be seen as the villains of a sci-f movie that go from planet to planet, destroying them and then moving to the next one.

Wish my parents could afford to send me to three space camps, if only we all had access to these types of resources

She's obviously a very intelligent young woman as, no doubt, are the scientist working on the idea of sending people to Mars. If only we could re-direct their intelligence and time to help find ways to live in a way that is better for this planet.

What is the point of the comment on 'pushing back dating and a family'? Aside from the fact that it isn't true, mentioning it is blatant sexism - you would never write that about a male. Please remove it boredpanda and allow our women to contribute as humans without feeling it does or might diminish their worth in other spheres.

Wow, this is awesome! Having her dad already working in the industry helped for sure, but looks like she's pushed herself to do this all on her own!

I admire this girl's passion and desire, but when the risks out way the rewards, why bother. We can explore uninhabitable Mars just fine with rovers and robots. With Mars' smaller size and less gravity, humans would be at the height of arrogance to think that they could ever manipulate or create an atmosphere where humans could exist there without the use of living enclosures. And if history here on Earth will tell us anything, the Biosphere experiments that were tried were abysmal failures. Without resources, there can be no manufacturing or agriculture to sustain life and every bit of food and supplies would have to be consistently shipped from Earth at astronomical expense. Dream big Allyson, but dream smart.

amazing level of dedication. i can't wait for my niece and nephew to be studying her in school some day. way to go!

Kind of unethical -- to get a kid/child hyped up about taking a long space mission that will never return.

such a determination! go Girl!

I want to go with her and create the next generation of Martians.

I was born about 45 years too early :P

I played enough DOOM to know going to Mars is a bad idea

Big Dreams

These seems more like propaganda to misdirect people from NASA's bloated budget and myriad bureaucratic ineptness.

If she was a guy, would marriage and kids even be mentioned? It's on the thumbnail and I'm a little disappointed in that. There;s so many other things and quotes that can on the thumbnail but nope. Had to mention she can't get married or have kids, because it's 2018 and we still think that's a woman's main priority in life.

you go girl

#SoDoneWithThisPlanet Please dont spread the human race to other planets though! #OkThanksBye

Coooool

Yea right like she actually speaks four languages to a fluency level where she can actually study in them lol

She was already so much involved in this, as a mere child, there are so many expectations now that she will not ever dare to change her mind and back out. I am not judging the mission itself, but doubting her ability to make an informed decision at such a young age. How do you differentiate between a passion and an obsession? This thought makes me uneasy, even though I am fascinated by the idea itself.

It would be better to colonize the Antartica which is warmer than Mars and you can breath and life in water. Mars = Issues of Human waste and bacteria, constant radiation, can't step outside and breath, percolates in the soil, gravity is low, enlarged eyeball problems, weaker bone issues...etc

This girl doesn't know, what she wants.. She should study, do some research, travel, enjoy her carefree life..whatever. Why does she want to spend about how long..two years? in tight cold box so she can maybe land on some cold rock in the middle of nowhere, send some selfies and slowly die..? This one way trip is for somebody who has nothing to lose and who is curious about what is it like to freeze alive, burn alive, slowly fall in madness, be crushed to pieces, suffocate or starve to death.. Anyway she will have many followers and that is worth it..

I don't like how she's encouraging young people to "follow [your] dream". This makes them think they don't need an education and sometimes you don't (like celebrities) need one to be successful but it's not that likely. It's good to have an education to fall back on if your "dream" doesn't work out

Let me make it perfectly clear: NASA is not training this young woman to go anywhere. The programs she has been involved with are open to everyone and are not funded by NASA. She has paid her own way. Nothing that she has done guarantees her a slot with the federal astronaut corps or would probably even influence her selection. Let's not pretend a program exists when it does not. It does this fine young woman a disservice as well as the truth of such matters.

Absolutely the very definition of "the right stuff" . . . you go girl! I know, there are many who strongly suggest that we are a toxic lifeform, our track record with our own planet here is not so good, we should be "fixing" our own planet before venturing off to others, etc. I get that . . . However, to not be venturing out beyond our own planet, no matter how tentative such early steps might be, would be the greater folly.

hollywood

Ain't nobody going to Mars, or the moon #wakeupfolks

For those comments about how bad us humans are. One of the biggest issues is our lust to obtain money. If the young could aspire to go to Mars. Maybe they could also aspire to fix the stupid mess we have made here, and change our way of thinking about resources, money, corporations, and the value placed on life and the planet as a whole. I can't wait to see more exploration, but we have huge issues here that I just don't see how we can possibly fix. We shouldn't have to wait till someone saves up enough money to research a way to go to Mars. We should have to argue about how we make our power. We as a species should just be doing it. But we came up with money and that holds everything we could accomplish back. It sucks!

We need to colonize Uranus.

does anyone else think she looks like Vanellope from wreck it Ralph?

Did anyone else notice that the title of the video it says she's fifteen but the headline in the article says she's seventeen?