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March 15, 2016 | NASAEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
On Thursday, March 10, 2016 astronauts on the International Space Station logged their 1,000th educational contact with the ground. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra answered questions posed by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium in Grand Forks, North Dakota. No matter how many times it happens, talking directly with someone orbiting above the Earth remains a thrill for students.
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) works through an international consortium of amateur radio organizations and space agencies in the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe. Amateur, or ham, radio operators set up hardware on the ground and call NA1SS, the space station's radio call sign. The suspense is palpable as those on the ground await a reply from space.
A few students prepare and ask questions while hundreds of others, along with teachers, parents and members of the community, listen in from classrooms or auditoriums. The overall goal of this long-running experiment is to interest young people in mathematics and science, and inspire the next generation of explorers.
Crew members typically answer from 10 to 20 questions. These frequently touch on current research and life aboard the station, along with a wide variety of topics from emergencies, whether a human heart beats faster or slower in space, how food is stored on the station, whether astronauts ever get fresh fruit and vegetables, and what returning to Earth is like.
One participant from the 1,000th call asked Kopra what kind of experiments he was conducting on the space station.
"We have lots of different kinds of experiments," Kopra responded. "Many of our experiments have to do with the effect of zero gravity on the human body, because it can be hard on the body - our muscles, our bones and our eyes. We'd like to learn how to solve those problems so that we can stay healthy and go into deep space, perhaps go back to the Moon or Mars someday."
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