TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Students at Emporia State University are about to have a direct link to outer space.
Emporia State University is one of four sites selected for this spring semester’s ARISS Project with NASA. ARISS stands for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.
Emporia State Instructor Mark Brown, who is also a NASA Solar System Ambassador, and Tim East, the president of the Emporia Amateur Radio Society, visited Eye on NE Kansas to explain what this means.
ARISS allows students to speak directly with crew members on the International Space Station. Brown and East explained how school partners with amateur radio groups, who provide the radio equipment, expertise and training in radio basics.
The ESU students have conducted outreach to elementary schools around Lyon County. When they get the go ahead, the younger students will use the amateur radio equipment to interview the astronauts. The exact date is not yet known.
The project has included collaborations on community programs. One is coming up March 28 at the Emporia Public Library. Brown will present a program called Signals from the Stars at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
You can learn more about the ARISS Project at www.ARISS.org.
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