Teenager to Pick Mars Landing Site for NASA?

NASA is engaging the best industries and companies to help create the gear the agency needs to reach the red planet. But in a surprising twist, a teenager got the attention of NASA when his recommendation of the potential landing site for Mars 2020 rover was approved by the premiere space agency.

NASA called out for suggestions as to where their 2020 rover should land on Mars and Alex Longo, a high school student got his recommendation approved. Reports say that Longo's proposal was lauded by experts and is considered a favorite.

Alex Longo is an avid NASA and space enthusiast whose from Raliegh, North Carolina. He dreamt of going to space and on Mars. So it is not surprising that the student is adeptly knowledgeable about NASA's missions in deep space including Mars. Based on Longo's proposal, he said the lander should dock where NASA previously landed on the planet in 2004.

Longo prepared his proposal paper once he came upon the announcement that NASA is calling out for recommendations for the 2020 Mars landing. Not only will Longo's paper be the subject of NASA's planning, he was even invited to join in. "I saw that they were looking for abstracts from scientists to suggest landing sites. I decided, well, I'll write something up. I thought it was a dream or something. Alex Longo said in a statement. "So I just got up, walked away and a while later I came back and that email was still there. And I was like, 'Wow, I actually just got invited to go to a NASA conference!' How cool is that?" Longo added.

Longo identified the next landing site to be the Gusev Crater, the place where NASA's Spirit rover landed in 2004, according to NDTV. Longo already attended an important conference at the Lunar Planetary Institute in Oct. 2015 and he currently belongs to a group of NASA scientists who believe in the same idea, landing the 2020 rover in Gusev Crater.