Dexter, a 7-year-old boy, wrote a letter to NASA expressing his wish to go to Mars and the space agency sent an encouraging reply along with gifts.
Dexter like most kids is fascinated by what's up there in space. However, unlike most kids, Dexter is not the kind to just sit on his dreams. Hence, he wrote a letter to NASA which has gone viral on the Internet. The letter expressed the 7-year-old's desire to go to Mars.
"I heard that you are sending two people to Mars and I would lik [sic] to come but I'm 7. So I can't," wrote the 7-year-old. The boy also asked the space agency about what he needs to do to become an astronaut.
NASA replied to the boy encouraging him to follow his dream and sent him gifts that provided him more information about the Red Planet.
"Just think - in a few years, you could be one of the pioneers that may help lead the world's activities for better understanding of our earth and for exploring space," the space agency replied.
Press Secretary Lauren Worley revealed that the reply was from NASA's Office of Public Inquiries, which responds to hundreds of thousands of public queries each year on a variety of topics.
"NASA is working to send humans farther into space than ever before, first to an asteroid and on to Mars," Worley said, according to Mashable.com. "Perhaps one of these young writers will be among the first astronauts to set foot on another planet."
Dexter's mother shared the letter on Reddit. An employee from NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. replied that letters like Dexter's bring pride to the space agency because they reinforce the idea that they are doing good work.
"I was actually trying to keep him from being disappointed if he didn't get a response, I thought you guys would just be too busy. This sort of thing means the world to children and keeps their imagination and faith in the industry alive," Dexter's mom replied.