ARISS School Contact 29 August 2025, 9:35 UTC, direct via ZS9SLO

Communications

Credits: ARISS

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Orion Primary School, Alberton, South Africa

 

August 27, 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 Orion Primary School located in Alberton, South Africa.  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.

 

For this ARISS radio contact, Orion Primary School will involve students from both elementary and high schools in their local school district. The primary audience will consist of students in grades 1 through 12 (ages 7 through 18 years). The school’s primary focus is on promoting STEM education while also encouraging students to use STEM in extracurricular activities in their robotics clubs, coding competitions, and science Olympiads. The local amateur radio club is supplying the hardware and assistance with the radio station. They are also being supported by the South African Radio League as well as the South African chapter of AMSAT.

 

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Mike Fincke, amateur radio call sign KE5AIT. 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 Alberton, South Africa. Amateur radio operators using call sign ZS9LSO, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
  • The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 29, 2025 at 11:35 am SAST (South Africa) (9:35:44 UTC, 5:35 am EDT, 4:35 am CDT, 3:35 am MDT, 2:35 am PDT).
  • The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/@ORION2025ARISS
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  • As time allows, students will ask these questions:
  1. What does it feel like to be without gravity, and what challenges are there in a weightless environment?
  2. How long does it take to readjust to Earth after spending a long time in space without gravity, and how do you adapt?
  3. Does the lack of gravity affect your sleep patterns in space? How do you sleep without floating around?
  4. What inspired you to become an astronaut, and what advice would you give to others who want to follow the same path?
  5. How long does it take to put on the spacesuit and helmet, and how comfortable is it to wear?
  6. Where does the water you drink come from?
  7. What type of food do astronauts eat in space, and how is the food kept fresh?
  8. In the absence of an atmosphere as we know it on earth, where does the oxygen come from that you breathe?
  9. I am a very active person and would like to know how do astronauts stay fit in a microgravity?
  10. Do you have any free time and how do you spend it?
  11. What happens when any of the crew gets sick?
  12. I am absolutely stunned at the thought of spacewalking. Does your body feel any different during a space walk?
  13. How do you navigate in space?
  14. What technologies do you think will make humans living on Mars possible?
  15. What type of experiments are being carried out on the ISS?
  16. What’s the funniest thing that has happened to you in zero gravity?
  17. Have you witnessed any unexpected phenomena in space?
  18. How do you tell night from day—does Earth’s pattern help?
  19. What’s the most beautiful sight you’ve seen looking down on Earth?
  20. Do any sounds from Earth reach your station—like storms or ocean waves?
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  • About ARISS:
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  • 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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