Abigail Harrison (born June 13, 1997), also known as Astronaut Abby, is an American internet personality and science communicator, particularly in the area of the United States space program. Harrison is the founder and current leader of The Mars Generation, a

501(c)(3) nonprofit A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 501 ...

. She is not an astronaut.

Early life and education

Harrison was born in 1997 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Harrison has sought to become the first person on Mars since an early age. Harrison attended

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and Minneapolis Public Schools for

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

education. Harrison graduated in 2019 from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

with a Bachelors of Arts. She pursued astrobiology (self-made major) and Russian Area Studies degrees. While at Wellesley, Harrison participated in a long-standing research project at

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

led by Wellesley Professor

Marianne V. Moore Marianne Voigt Moore is an American aquatic ecologist, whose area of expertise is the threat posed to lakes from manmade origins. She was awarded the Ramón Margalef Award for Excellence in Education in 2015 for an innovative teaching program she ...

and subsequently presented at the school's annual Tanner Conference.

Career

The Mars Generation

In 2015, Harrison founded the

called The Mars Generation and currently serves as the President of the Executive Board. The Mars Generation is an American non-governmental nonprofit organization involved in public outreach and advocating for human space exploration and

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

(STEM) education. The Mars Generation offers 3 main programs. The Future of Space Outreach program encourages the support of space exploration and STEM education. The Student Space Ambassador Leadership Program (SSA) is a dual program in mentorship and leadership designed to provide school and career guidance to students ages 13–24. The final program provides full paid scholarships for students demonstrating financial need to attend U.S. Space Camp. In order to apply for consideration students need to be age 15–17, demonstrate interest in space exploration and an aptitude in STEM and complete the application, including obtaining a recommendation from a teacher and/or mentor.

Author

In January 2021, Penguin Random House published a book by Harrison titled "Dream Big! How To Reach For Your Stars". Harrison and Random House have stated that any proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to The Mars Generation, Harrison's nonprofit organization.

Public engagement

Harrison's online presence as Astronaut Abby was spurred from an 8th grade National History Day project titled 'Debate and Diplomacy: The History of the ISS". Harrison set up a Twitter account under the name of AstronautAbby to connect with NASA employees to get a quote for her project. On May 28, 2013, Harrison attended the

Soyuz TMA-09M Soyuz TMA-09M was a Russian Soyuz programme, Soyuz mission to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 36 crew to the space station. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station during Expeditions 36 and 37 ...

launch of her mentor, Astronaut Luca Parmitano, to the International Space Station. She shared the experience with her social media audience, becoming Parmitano's Earth Liaison. As his Earth Liaison, she shared his 6-month experience of living in space with her social media community and through her worldwide outreach program.

References

External links

*
The Mars Generation – Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Abigail 1997 births Living people Science communicators American Internet celebrities People from Minneapolis Wellesley College alumni