HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (March 22, 2013) — Huntsville area students from Ed White, Discovery and Liberty Middle Schools talked directly with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), Thursday from the campus of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).
The students talked with astronaut Tom Marshburn for 11 minutes as the ISS passed over Huntsville. The UAH Space Hardware Club hosted the ARISS event.
Four students from each school asked astronauts questions about life in space and other space-related topics. Approximately 120 eighth grade students were on campus for the event. Students also received UAH goodie bags, NASA souveneirs and toured the campus.
The ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), is a cooperative venture with NASA Johnson, NASA Marshall, the American Amateur Radio Relay League, AMSAT, and radio clubs worldwide. In collaboration with NASA’s Teaching From Space, NASA’s Aerospace Education Specialist Program, and the Alabama Space Grant Consortium, the UAH Space Hardware Club has engaged local middle school students in multiple space and amateur radio activities leading up to the ARISS contact. For more information about ARISS visit www.nasa.gov/education/tfs/ariss.