Classroom to Cosmos! Mysuru school students interact with astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla through Amateur radio

Six students from Excel Public School in Mysuru city had a live interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla (VU2TNI), the Indian astronaut currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the Axiom Space AX-4 mission. The event took place on July 4 through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) programme in collaboration with UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru.

The ARISS initiative aims to connect students globally with the astronauts to engage in question and answer via radio frequency transmissions.

The ISS radio contact with India happened through Amateur radio, also known as HAM radio, which is a “licenced, non-commercial system of wireless communication used by individuals around the world to experiment with radio technology, connect with others across long distances, and support emergency communication when conventional systems fail”.

It was able to reach Shukla because it can transmit signals to remote locations like ships, aircraft, satellites, and space stations. This is why HAM radio sees educational value in the domains of physics, electronics, and atmospheric sciences.

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Mysuru school and Shubhanshu Shukla

The Mysore school space event had the following students as representatives: Bhuvan PM (VU2NQH), Namasyu A (VU3IHV), Tanish Tejaswi MS (VU2ITM), Pranav C N (VU3IIC), Vishruth R (VU3IIB), and Sanat Raj G (VU3IHU). The students were guided by their mentor Mahesh M B (VU2YYA), who is also Amateur radio club custodian at the school.

The school’s Amateur radio club, licensed by the Ministry of Communications, promotes technical training in high frequency (HF), very high frequency (VHF), and ultra high frequency (UHF) radio bands, antenna building, Morse code, and satellite telemetry.

Speaking about the ARISS India event, the students said in a joint statement: “As licenced student HAM operators, we’ve spent months learning the science behind radio communication, tracking satellites, and assembling and testing antennas. Being able to apply all of that by connecting with the International Space Station is an experience we never imagined we’d have at this stage in our learning journey."