Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a programme that lets students experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station. The goal is to inspire them to pursue interests in careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and to engage them with radio science technology through amateur radio.
ARISS is an international organisation partnered with National Space Agencies, National Amateur Radio societies, and National Amateur Radio satellite organizations (AMSAT). The ARISS Principia mission events are staffed entirely by UK volunteers supported by a grant from the UK Space Agency and are part of the European ARISS team.
Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby and volunteer public service that uses designated radio frequencies for the non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communications. Amateur Radio is the only technical hobby to be defined by U.N. Treaties. Amateur radio was first used in space on the STS-9 Space Shuttle in 1983 and members of AMSAT develop, build and launch satellites to enable amateur satellite experimentation.