A science, technology, engineering and math program at a Maryland high school is helping a student pursue her dream of one day becoming an astronaut.Freshman Sarah Gerst walks the hallways of Mercy High School, keeping her inspiration close for a career that might one day lead to her dream job."I would love to be an astronaut," Sarah said.Sarah is already on her way. Since the summer before fifth grade, she has been going to space and aviation camps at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama."Honestly, everything just speaks to me about it. I love these camps with my whole heart. I've always been interested in space and space exploration since I was very young," Sarah said.She hopes to get some flight hours soon as part of the Civil Air Patrol. Mercy is helping young women pursue careers in the STEM field with Project Lead the Way, a nationally recognized science and engineering program that focuses on biomedical sciences.Freshmen students, like Sarah, are learning about forensics."Solving a crime, they've been doing DNA analysis, they've been working through it, they've been looking at hair follicles, fingerprints," said Rena Collector, coordinator of Project Lead the Way.It's classwork that keeps her grounded now, but Sarah is looking ahead at NASA's next mission, thinking about the Artemis crew."I think it's really great that they are sending women and also people of color to the moon. At Mercy, we are all about empowering women, and that's a beautiful thing," Sarah said.Watch the video above for the full story.

Related video above: NASA’s Insight Has Just Given Us a View of What’s Inside MarsWant to find your inner Matt Damon and spend a year pretending you are isolated on Mars? NASA has a job for you.To prepare for eventually sending astronauts to Mars, NASA began taking applications Friday for four people to live for a year in Mars Dune Alpha. That's a 1,700-square-foot Martian habitat, created by a 3D-printer, and inside a building at Johnson Space Center in Houston.The paid volunteers will work a simulated Martian exploration mission complete with spacewalks, limited communications back home, restricted food and resources and equipment failures.NASA is planning three of these experiments with the first one starting in the fall next year. Food will all be ready-to-eat space food and at the moment there are no windows planned. Some plants will be grown, but not potatoes like in the movie "The Martian." Damon played stranded astronaut Mark Watney, who survived on spuds."We want to understand how humans perform in them," said lead scientist Grace Douglas. "We are looking at Mars realistic situations." The application process opened Friday and they're not seeking just anybody. The requirements are strict, including a master's degree in a science, engineering or math field or pilot experience. Only American citizens or permanent U.S. residents are eligible. Applicants have to be between 30 and 55, in good physical health with no dietary issues and not prone to motion sickness. That shows NASA is looking for people who are close to astronauts, said former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. And, he said that's a good thing because it is a better experiment if the participants are more similar to the people who will really go to Mars. Past Russian efforts at a pretend Mars mission called Mars 500 didn't end well partly because the people were too much like everyday people, he said.For the right person this could be great, said Hadfield, who spent five months in orbit in 2013 at the International Space Station, where he played guitar and sang a cover video of David Bowie's "Space Oddity.""Just think how much you're going to be able to catch up on Netflix," he said. "If they have a musical instrument there, you could go into there knowing nothing and come out a concert musician, if you want."There could be "incredible freedom" in a "year away from the demands of your normal life."Attitude is key, said Hadfield, who has a novel "The Apollo Murders" coming out in the fall. He said the participants need to be like Damon's Watney character: "Super competent, resourceful and not relying on other people to feel comfortable."