Young people in Indiana will have a chance to find out firsthand about life aboard the International Space Station, thanks to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Ten students at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis will put their questions to astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, on August 23, as about 135 of their assembled classmates listen in.

“The ability to have a real-time dialogue with astronauts who are conducting vital experiments in space is an extraordinary way for the next generation to fundamentally understand how the science they are learning about has the potential to transform the world in which we live,” said Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO of The Children’s Museum. “What better way to inspire the next generation, which could potentially travel to Mars.”

The museum recently opened a new, permanent exhibit called “Beyond Spaceship Earth,” which lets visitors immerse themselves in life on the space station, as they walk through recreated portions of the ISS and learn how astronauts eat, sleep, live, and work.

Eight Central Indiana radio amateurs provided all technical and operational expertise, including assembling the station and mounting the antenna on the museum roof. The ARISS contact with Rubins at NA1SS on the ISS and N9DR at the museum will get under way on August 23 1509 UTC.