Speaker
Description
In September 2025, the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) coordinated Nigeria’s first physical Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact event for Nigerian Schools, enabling students from selected schools in the FCT (Nigeria's capital city) to speak directly with an astronaut aboard the ISS. The project, supported by the ARISS Telebridge network in South Africa, demonstrated how space communication can inspire young people and make astronomy education more inclusive.
During the live contact, students participated in question-and-answer sessions with the astronaut, on discussions about life and science aboard the ISS, enabling short learning activities that connected classroom science to real-world space technology. Collaboration among schools, media partners, and the ARISS community helped create a shared sense of achievement and curiosity.
This presentation aims to share lessons from coordinating the ARISS contact in a resource-limited environment, highlighting how partnerships amongst internal NASRDA staff, creativity, and community engagement can drive participation in astronomy. It also explores NASRDA’s plan for post-contact outreach, including school visits for space awareness campaign, encouraging tour to the NASRDA museum on-site, possible hands-on learning and demonstrations, and finding ways to use AI tools to make space communication more interactive and accessible. The ARISS contact represents a step toward democratising astronomy communication in Nigeria and inspiring the next generation of space enthusiasts.
| Stream | Education, Development and Outreach |
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