EP#20: Alyssa Carson - Becoming an Astronaut | Going to Mars | Letting Space Change Our Perspectives

Alyssa Carson is a space enthusiast, Astrobiology undergraduate student at the Florida Institute of Technology, author of “So You Want to Be An Astronaut”, and has spoken at multiple TED talks. Alyssa, now 21 years old, has attended Space Camp 7 times, Space Academy 3 times, Robotics Academy once, and was the youngest to graduate from Advanced Space Academy. She was also the first person in the world to attend all 3 NASA Space Camps, and the first to complete NASA’s Passport program by visiting 14 NASA Centres across the US. She has since been selected as one of seven ambassadors representing Mars One, a mission seeking to establish a human colony on Mars in 2030. Alyssa is also passionate about education and spends many hours speaking to students in schools across North America, inspiring them to get involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In this episode, you can hear Alyssa (or “Blueberry”, as per her call sign) discuss her lifelong goal of getting to Mars, what Mars has to offer us as a species, and what greater space exploration might reveal about how we can improve life and ecosystems here on earth. Learn more about Alyssa: https://nasablueberry.com/about/ Buy Alyssa’s book “So You Want to Be an Astronaut”: https://www.amazon.ca/So-You-Want-Be-Astronaut/dp/173135794X Watch Alyssa’s TED talk: https://youtu.be/_VhmI11ToiE This episode is sponsored by RBC. ___ What is Impact in the 21st Century? Impact in the 21st Century is a podcast created by Simbi Foundation, a non-profit organization working to support the next 3.5 million refugee learners with solar-powered classrooms called BrightBoxes. This podcast celebrates the impactful work being done around the globe, and shares the stories of the inspiring individuals who are behind it. Who hosts Impact in the 21st Century? Aaron Friedland is a National Geographic Explorer, PhD Candidate in Econometrics at UBC, Executive Director of Simbi Foundation, and innovator of the BrightBox solution and the unique reading platform Simbi. Stream Impact in the 21st Century on your favourite streaming platform: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google podcasts  Learn more about our podcast at www.simbifoundation.org/podcast