On Friday, February 23, 2018 at 9:08 a.m., the MOST will make contact with the International Space Station (ISS) via amateur radio and speak with NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who launched to the ISS in September 2017.

The MOST will open at a special time of 8:30 a.m. on Friday to allow visitors to experience this rare and exciting opportunity. Regular exhibit admission rates apply. Contact will last approximately ten minutes, and Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse Central Village students will ask Mark Vande Hei a series of questions from the MOST's ham radio station exhibit until the ISS reaches the horizon and communication is lost.

"How exciting is it for Syracuse's science and technology museum to have the opportunity to speak with a NASA Astronaut aboard the Space Station?" said Lauren Kochian, Executive Vice President of the MOST. "We are thrilled to welcome our community and students from the Boys & Girls Club for what will surely be a memorable and unique experience."

To facilitate conversation, the MOST purchased special equipment, including an antenna that is mounted on top of the Museum and will follow the ISS as it travels about 5 miles per second (i.e. roughly 17,100 mph) overhead. Following communication with the ISS, equipment will be utilized in the Museum's ham radio station area, where it will be used to make contact with satellites and ham radio operators across the world.

Following contact with the ISS, visitors are encouraged to explore flight and space with hands-on activities from Lockheed Martin in the Museum's Flight & Space exhibit as well as experience A Beautiful Planet in the Bristol IMAX Omnitheater, which offers stunning visual perspective from astronauts aboard the ISS. Furthermore, enjoy the MOST's daily planetarium shows, science activities and demonstrations, and Slime Science and Soil Science 'Make & Take' workshops! Discover, learn and play!