English: Employees were invited to listen to a question-and-answer session between students from the Goddard Child Development Center, local students and residents aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Sept. 13, beginning 12:40 p.m. EDT. This was a rare opportunity, via amateur radio, for students to talk directly to astronaut Akihiko Hoshide about living and working aboard the orbiting facility.

Attending this event were students from the Goddard Child Development Center, the Robert Goddard French Immersion School, and the Prince George’s County Howard B. Owens Science Center. This was made possible through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), a cooperative venture among NASA and other international space agencies that coordinates scheduled, radio contacts with students and astronauts aboard the station.

Teachers across varying content areas have incorporated lessons regarding space, astronomy, NASA, and the space station into their subject curriculum. ARISS and Teaching From Space, a NASA education initiative, encourage participating schools to lay such groundwork as part of its goal to instill interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects and careers among students.

The ARISS radio contact is one in a series with educational activities in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM. This project promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of human spaceflight.

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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