Abigail Harrison aka Astronaut Abby dreams of being the first astronaut to reach Mars, and is such an inspiration to us here at Lottie HQ. She is the founder of the Mars Generation, and this week, 22nd - 26th May, is their 2nd year of the #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge. Lottie is an advocate of STEM and actively encourages all kids to become hands on with science!

We have heard about the Mars Generation and are so interested in it that we reached out to our friend Astronaut Abby to find out more about her aspirations, and how to get involved in the Challenge!

1) Where are you from, Abby?  

Minneapolis, USA

2) What do you do for a living?  

Student, inspirational speaker and social entrepreneur. I am the founder of non-profit called The Mars Generation. 

3) What are your goals and dreams?

I aspire to be a scientist, astronaut and dream to be the first astronaut to Mars!

4) Describe yourself in 3 words.  

Ambitious, hardworking and tenacious.

5) Which Lottie/Finn would you say you're most like? 

Stargazer Lottie

6) Why do you like Lottie?

Lottie Dolls create toys that allow for diverse interests with children. From a Queen to Stargazer there are many options to allow for positive play and exploration. 

7) Can you tell us more about the Mars Generation and the Train Like a Martian Initiative?

The Mars Generation is a non-profit I founded alongside my mom and a board of astronauts, engineers and professionals. The organization advocates for STEM education and space exploration. It was founded out of a worldwide outreach program I had started as a girl and has grown to more than a million people following my own journey to Mars, and now supporting The Mars Generation and our mission to inspire the next generation to Dream Big! We run an outreach program, leadership program and Space Camp Scholarship program - it is a volunteer driven organization. 

The Train Like a Martian Challenge is an annual worldwide event held online. The purpose is to help bring awareness to the importance of STEM education, space exploration and physical fitness. We also fundraise to send kids who lack financial resources to Space Camp. Fundraising and donations are not required to participate. 

Each day we post a physical and STEM challenge on our blog and social media channels and people share photos and videos with the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Musically. Every photo shared gets 1 entry in our daily prize drawing, and every video gets 2 entries. Prizes include TMG pins, keychains, t-shirts, Astronaut Abby patches and even several Lottie Stargazer Dolls! There are also rewards for people who choose to donate, and people of all ages and backgrounds can participate!

Thank you so much for all this amazing information, Abby!

To find out more information, and sign-up to the challenge visit: http://www.themarsgeneration.org/train-like-a-martian/.

Follow Abby on Twitter: @AstronautAbby

Follow the Mars Generation on Twitter: @TheMarsGen

Follow the Hashtag and join in on Twitter: #TrainLikeAMartian