ARISS News Release No. 25-04

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

University of Prešov, Prešov, Slovakia

January 23, 2025—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at the University of Prešov located in Prešov, Slovakia. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

The University of Prešov (UNIPO) is a public, self-governing institution engaged in creative scientific, educational, artistic, and cultural activities. UNIPO offers programs that include the arts, humanities, theology, management, education, healthcare, and the natural sciences, which includes the Department of Physics, Mathematics, and Technologies. The University will host this ARISS contact allowing their own university students to ask questions as well as scouts and students from four local elementary and high schools. The ARISS contact is facilitated in collaboration with two amateur radio clubs: OM3RLL and OM3VSZ. Radio operators will use the University club call sign OM25ISS for this contact.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Sunita Williams, amateur radio call sign KD5PLB. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Prešov, Slovakia. Amateur radio operators using call sign OM25ISS, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for January 25, 2025 at 4:21 pm CET (Slovakia) (15:21:17 UTC, 10:21 am EST, 9:21 am CST, 8:21 am MST, 7:21 am PST).

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View contact via live stream at https://www.youtube.com/@om25iss

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What's the most unexpected thing you've learned about yourself in space?

2. How do you cope with boredom on long missions?

3. If you could bring one item from Earth on the ISS, what would it be?

4. Is it true that Astronauts on the ISS need to know how to speak Russian, how to swim, and how to make origami?

5. How do you perceive gravity in space?

6. What's your favorite way to spend free time on the ISS?

7. What's the most surprising part of living in close quarters with the same people for months?

8. If you are in a space suit, and have an itch, how do you scratch yourself?

9. How do you measure weight in space?

10. What's the most challenging part of communicating with Earth while in orbit?

11. If you could send a message to everyone on Earth, what would it be?

12. How do you prepare for emergencies, like a fire or air leak, on the ISS?

13. What's the most fascinating thing you've learned about the universe in space?

14. How do you keep track of time with 16 sunrises and sunsets every day?

15. What's the most fun or creative thing you've done using microgravity?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the ISS. In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org.

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

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