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There aren't many teenagers like Alyssa Carson from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At the age of 18, she is the world's youngest astronaut-in-training and already has three TEDx Talks under her space belt. Carson has also teamed up with Horizn Studios, a Berlin-based travel brand, to help create the first-ever line of space luggage, as well as a limited-edition smart suitcase that will be released on July 19, timed to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. If Carson has her way, this wunderkind will be the first human to step foot on Mars.
Carson set her sights on space when she was a mere 3-years-old, after seeing The Backyardigans, a cartoon about a group of friends who went on imaginary adventures. "They had an episode called Mission to Mars and were asking questions about space, about Mars, if people are already on Mars," says Carson, who says that while her family doesn't have a background in science, they supported her curiosity. "My dad remembers me coming and asking him questions about space and Mars. He told me a little about the moon landings and it sparked an interest."
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After Carson's father took her to her first space camp when she was 7, she was hooked. She has attended 19 space camps—including places like Turkey and Canada—and is the only person to have completed the NASA Passport program, having visited all 14 sites across nine states. "Space camp was the best opportunity for me to learn more about space and to get more involved in it," she says. "I got to ride simulators, do simulated missions, build model rockets and learn robotics and aviation."
Carson's passion paid off. When she was 12, NASA invited her to discuss future missions to Mars as part of the MER (Mars Exploration Rovers) 10 panel in Washington D.C., commemorating 10 years of roving across the Red Planet. At age 13, she did her first TEDx Talk in Greece. And at 15, Carson became the youngest person to be accepted into the prestigious Advanced PoSSUM Space Academy, where she received the certification in applied astronautics, officially making her certified to do a sub-orbital research flight and venture into the cosmos. She has also racked up an impressive social media following of more than 136,000 followers on Instagram at @nasablueberry and over 83,000 on Facebook at @nasablueberry (her call sign is "Blueberry).
So when Horizn Studios was looking to develop Horizn ONE—the world’s first luggage for space travel—it's no wonder the company invited Carson to team up with their designers and engineers. "They know luggage and I know space, so it was a match made in heaven when talking about the future and space tourism," says Carson, who tapped into her astronaut training and scientific expertise to help develop visual prototypes. This trailblazing luggage is super lightweight, is vacuum sealed for maximum packing capacity, folds up, cleans laundry and even comes with a smart screen that will enable visitors on Mars to stream videos and call back home.
"It's the ultimate futuristic luggage—geared toward space tourism and commercial space flights once we start bringing the general public into space," says Carson. But you'll need to wait to purchase the first pieces from the Horizn ONE line, which won't be ready until around 2030, just in time for the first missions to Mars, scheduled for 2033. And you'll need to have deep pockets. Horizn projects that its space luggage will retail for over $50,000—though the company points out that this is a relative bargain, considering that a flight to the International Space Station with NASA costs upwards of $46 million.
In the meantime, Horizn is releasing Carson's first creation for the general public—the Limited NASA Edition Cabin Trolley—which has a more down-to-earth price of $810. The bag has a built-in smart charger, 360-degree spinner wheels and an aerospace-grade polycarbonate hard shell. It comes in Apollo 11-inspired white and has astronaut-style orange and blue accents. The sleek bag has been given the seal of approval by NASA and features its official logo. Owners also get a year of free access to Horizn GO, a personal trip-planning assistant.
So what do you do after creating the world's first space luggage? Carson just graduated from high school in May and is headed to Florida Tech to study astrobiology and continue on her mission to Mars. She's also excited to keep inspiring other young people to reach for the stars. "Whatever your dream may be, no matter how crazy it is, you should follow it," says Carson.
In fact, inspiring the Mars Generation was the theme of Carson's second TEDx Talk in Bucharest, where she focused on "the importance of following your dreams and the importance of supporting others with their dreams." Her third TEDx Talk was centered around changing the paradigm for young people. "I basically stated that once kids have a dream, they can actually start working toward that dream," Carson says. "They don't have to wait until college to start researching what they want to do. They can actually start accomplishing things at an early age."
As for young girls who want to follow in her footsteps, Carson recommends the STEM field. And most of all: "Never let anyone take your dream away from you."
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