Most of us only dream of space travel. But 17-year-old astronaut trainee Alyssa Carson is making it a reality. The ambitious Louisiana-based teenager has had her “heart set on the stars” ever since she was a little girl. At only 3 years old, she told her father, “Daddy, I want to be an astronaut, and be one of the people that go to Mars.”

Staying true to her word, she’s currently undergoing rigorous training with NASA in order to become part of the first human mission to Mars in the year 2033.