Melanie Weiland said it was news to her that NASA plans to get people to Mars by 2030.
The Burrell High School senior said space exploration isn’t something she has followed closely but indicated a speech she heard Friday at Penn State New Kensington piqued her interest.
“I had no idea we were that close to sending someone to Mars,” she said. “I found it interesting.”
Despite her interest in science, Weiland, 17, said she doesn’t see herself as a future astronaut. That’s even though she learned yesterday the average age for those who enter NASA’s astronaut program is 33.
James Pawelczyk, who flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1998, told Weiland and some of her classmates they fall into the ideal age group for astronauts who will make the pioneering flight to Mars.