NASA's Mars mission may be four years away, but deciding the rover's landing site for 2020 is in full swing. A teenage schoolboy may be the one decide on this, it seems.
Feeding the suggestions on landing site is an American teenager who is still in school. Alex Longo, now 16 years old, has been an avid space enthusiast right from his childhood.
"I was just five years old, and mom and dad had me watch a space shuttle launch," Longo recalled how he watched the space shuttle launch with extreme wonder.
Since then, Longo, a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina, has been dreaming of a space journey and landing as the first human on Mars.
This teen space enthusiast's dream came true in 2014 when NASA invited abstracts to decide on the Rover's landing venues. Longo, who sent his suggestions to NASA, also shared his plan with his mom.
Being unsure how it will be accepted, Longo wanted his mother's go-ahead on the matter. She was too encouraging and, after reading the abstract Longo prepared, remarked that his note was "really cool."
In his proposal, Longo pitched that the ideal place for the rover to land will be the Gusev Crater, where the NASA's rover Spirit touched down 12 years ago. The Spirit rover reports had claimed that the place had given out mysterious signals that life forms existed on Mars.
NASA responded to Longo's pitch for Gusev with an email inviting him to attend their first landing site meeting. For the schoolboy, NASA's invitation was something unbelievable and made him feel as if he landed right on his dream.
The meeting on landing spots was held at a Washington hotel in 2014, where Longo was accompanied by his parents. The young boy described the trepidation he faced when he saw the meeting's audience, which included hundreds of PhDs and others.
"I probably am by far the least experienced or knowledgeable person there," he recalled.
His fears evaporated once he finished the speech and the audience gave him a big hand. That was the beginning, and he had many opportunities to interact with veteran scientists specializing in Mars missions.
Finally, his choice of rover landing site was selected as one of the eight probable venues that NASA is considering.
Now, NASA has offered Longo one more opportunity. He was asked to submit suggestions on landing areas for the first human mission to Mars. With that, the teenager became extra passionate as a Mars aspirant and is excited to decide on the landing spot.
