New Port Richey STEM students speak with astronauts on International Space Station

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Last Tuesday students at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey had the chance to talk directly with astronauts on the International Space Station, as they passed over North America.

The activity is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Program or ARISS, which promotes learning opportunities related to Science, Technology, Education and Math, better known as STEM.

Ten students, and one former student, had the opportunity to ask pre-prepared questions to astronaut Drew Morgan.

Ryan Myrmel, senior at River Ridge High School said, “It’s definitely a bit surreal that I was able to talk to someone 240 miles away up in space. They were definitely more elaborate than I thought they were going to be and I did like the answers, they definitely answered my questions.” 

Student Emma Goluba added, “I thought it was really cool because I didn’t think I would get picked, but I did, so I was excited because I thought my question was pretty cool and I was interested in seeing the answer.” 

Throughout the year, teachers at River Ridge High School have been adding STEM projects to their curriculum to help students understand the technology that goes into making this communication possible and to gain an appreciation of all the challenges that relate to space exploration. The Aerospace and Earth Space students have been studying topics such as the magnitude of stars, the effect of gravity in space, and the Big Bang Theory. 

Click here for more information on ARISS.