April 20, 2025—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and participants at the Karabaglar Municipality Nasreddin Hodja Child Culture and Science Center located in Izmir, Turkey. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Karabaglar Municipality Nasreddin Hodja Children’s Culture and Science Center (Center) was established in 2022 and hosted 20,000 visitors in its first year. In the ‘Space and Aviation Exhibition’ section of the Center, models and interactive devices can be used to learn about the Solar System, the phases of the Moon, the Apollo missions and includes an ISS simulator. In the ‘Experiment Stations’ section, there are experimental setups prepared according to the secondary school science curriculum. The Center offers workshops on astronomy, science, experimentation, robotic coding, English and art. These workshops can be attended by students aged 5 and above. The Center also offers day and night observations with telescopes to the public free of charge. On special days and holidays, science-filled activities that are both instructive and entertaining are organized for children.

This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Takaya Onishi, amateur radio call sign KF5LKS. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the telebridge station.

The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Casale Monferrato, Italy. The amateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the call sign, IK1SLD to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for April 22, 2025 at 11:50 am EEST (Izmir, Turkey) (8:50:43 UTC, 4:50 am EDT, 3:50 am CDT, 2:50 am MDT, 1:50 am PDT).

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. How was your first night in space, were you able to sleep?
2. Why did you become an astronaut? What was most challenging while training?
3. What is your favorite film, TV series or book about space?
4. Have you ever witnessed a solar flare? Can you look at the Sun without a filter?
5. What is the longest time a person can live in zero gravity?
6. Have you seen a meteor shower in space?
7. I want to be an astronaut. What do I have to do?
8. What does space smell like?
9. How did you train for your mission?
10. Is space junk visible?
11. How do you feel in space without gravity and atmosphere?
12. When you return to Earth, what will you miss most from space?
13. Does food taste different in space compared to Earth?
14. What is your favorite thing to do in space?
15. What happens if someone gets sick in space?
16. Is time in space different from time on Earth?
17. Can microbes and viruses live aboard the ISS?
18: What was your biggest fear about living in space and how do you deal with it?
19. Do you see air pollution from space?
20. Does it get cold in space?