Executive Director
CurrentAmateur Radio on the International Space Station, Inc. (ARISS-USA) is a 501 (c) (3) science education non-profit organization. ARISS inspires, engages, and educates youth in STEM/STEAM by giving them an opportunity to talk directly with an astronaut orbiting the Earth on the ISS via amateur (ham) radio. During their radio contact, the students ask questions about life in space, space career options or other space-related topics. Students can fully participate in the ARISS contact by helping set up an amateur radio ground station at the school and then using that station to talk directly with the on-board crew member for approximately ten minutes, the time of an ISS overhead pass. Prior to the contact, the students spend 4-6 months on STEM/STEAM space and radio science curriculum topics. ARISS conducts about 60-80 school contacts per year with students in the US and around the world. Our team is almost exclusively comprised of volunteers with expertise in youth education, spaceflight hardware development and spaceflight operations.