Teenaged members of an amateur astronomers’ club enjoyed an opportunity to speak via ham radio with Astronauts in space July 24. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact originated at Brussels Planetarium, an annex of the Royal Observatory of Belgium. Contact participants got to ask 13 questions of astronaut Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, at the controls of the NA1SS Amateur Radio Station aboard the ISS.
In response to one youth’s question, Lu said he and the Expedition 7 crew commander, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, get along well in part because they have been in space together before. Lu said if others were able to share his and Malenchenko’s perspective on Earth the experience might contribute to world peace.
“I do think it would make a difference if all the peoples of the world could see what we’re seeing up here and experience what we’re experiencing,” Lu said. “The experience of living with people from other cultures, working with them and sharing an incredible view of the earth, and I do think that would make a difference.”
As he and other ISS crew members have remarked in previous ARISS conversations, the view of Earth while soaring 240 miles above in space is breathtaking. From “the rich blue colors of the ocean to the white of the clouds, and the red colors of the deserts of Australia or Africa to the dark green colors of the rain forest, it’s all incredibly beautiful,” Lu remarked.
Lu also said the ISS crew was unable to actually appreciate the absolute silence of space aboard the ISS because the spacecraft is filled with ventilation fans. The fans are a necessary substitute for natural convection currents on Earth, which do not occur in the microgravity of space, he explained.
Lu said he and Malenchenko had “a small celebration” topped off with Chinese rice pudding to mark Lu’s 40th birthday on July 1. “A birthday in space was a lot of fun,” he said, adding that he got to also talk with some of his colleagues on Earth as they were celebrating.
Handling Earth station duties for the contact was Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, in South Africa. An MCI teleconferencing circuit provided two-way audio between South Africa and Belgium, where the teens and ARISS Vice Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, used a speakerphone. An audience of about 100 people was on hand, Bertels said.
ARISS is an international project with participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.