On this episode of Mars Ascend is 15 year old future astronaut Alyssa Carson. Alyssa knows what it takes to make dreams come true. She's already completed 7 international Space Camps and numerous astronaut Sally Ride Camps. She's witnessed three shuttle launches, attended Space Academy's, Robotics Academy and an Aviation Challenge. She travels to many parts of the world as an inspirational speaker including TEDx in Greece motivating others to follow their dreams.  Alyssa also speaks four languages and will soon begin work on her pilots license.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Producer Richard Barton Lewis. Richard has been an A list Producer for many successful years spanning a career which has generated over 1.2 billion dollars in related revenue. His Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning works include 17 major motion pictures and numerous prime time television series. He currently has over a dozen motion picture, television and stage projects in active development. We discuss Richards latest movie 'The Space Between Us', a fictional drama about a boy who is born and raised on Mars.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Paul Levinson, co-creator with Michael Waltemathe  of the new book ‘Touching the Face of the Cosmos-On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion'. We discuss the book and the role religion and spirituality play in humans desire to explore space, including Mars.