Lee students talk to an astronaut aboard the ISS

FORT MYERS, Florida – Sixteen students from high school to high school had the chance to talk to an astronaut flying on the International Space Station on Monday.

The students radioed for ten minutes and asked Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor a question at Allen Park Elementary School during a presentation. They practiced since their selection in May.

The program planning, called Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), began a year ago. Allen Park Elementary School learned in January that it was chosen to be the first Lee County school to participate in the ARISS program and one of 15 for this session. Students have started an educational program called "Year in Space" including the challenge "Train like an astronaut – ride the moon", develop tomatoes from stolen seeds in space, visit the Kennedy Space Center to attend the launch of a rocket and form a STEM club. study rockets, computer coding and robotics.

Courtney Black, Grade 5 science teacher at Allen Park, coordinated the event. She inspired many students to pursue a career in space exploration. "If I can only have that little impact on a life, then my job is done," she said.

She had help from Century Link and the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, who had built and tested the equipment used on Monday.

Some of the questions included "What astronauts do to track physical activity" and "How to stay away from the sun's rays in space". "Harry, you're talking about space radiation." "Great question," Auñón-Chancellor said. "The way we protect ourselves is with the ISS, the thick armor."

However, what interested the students the most was how the astronaut achieved his achievements and how he could follow in his footsteps. Emily Gunger, Senior South Fort Myers, has just been accepted at the Emery-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida. She says that after the stellar question period, she feels reassured about her journey. "It's the beginning of my career to become an astronaut, that's where I have the courage to say, that's what I want to do, and that's how I want to do it!" she exclaimed.