July 22, 2025: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the US schools/host organizations newly selected for 2026 ARISS contacts. A total of 4 of the submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward in the processes of planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities.

The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for the 4 US host organizations during the Jan 2026 – June 2026 time period. They are now at work starting to implement their 4–6-month education plan which was outlined in their proposal. These STEAM based educational activities help prepare students for their contact as well as create an on-going exploration and interest in aerospace and amateur radio topics. They are also completing an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by ARISS, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities offered by NASA.

The schools and host organizations are:

ASU STEM Preparatory Academy Mesa, AZ
Conn Magnet Elementary School Raleigh, NC
The Center for Creativity, Innovation, and Discovery Providence, UT
EcoTarium Worcester, MA

July 12, 2025 — Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) announces an SSTV event to be held next week. The event is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 14 around 09:45 UTC / 5:45 AM ET and to end Sunday, July 20 around 18:00 UTC / 2:00 PM ET. Down-link transmissions will be at 145.800 MHz FM and the mode is expected to be PD 120.

The transmissions will consist of 12 images featuring the Apollo Soyuz mission and STS 51F which pioneered SSTV operation on Shuttles. If you are a past participant in our SSTV events, please note that we will be using our newly updated gallery at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/ .

For submitting your received images

Go to https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/ to submit your decodes. Check the box after submis-sion to the SSTV gallery for an award certificate.

Concerning Award Certificates

You must submit your decodes and your request for an award certificate within 72 hours after SSTV event transmissions end. Certificates are delivered via email (watch your spam folder).

Thanks to our user community for participating in ARISS.

Call for Proposals
New Proposal Window is July 9th, 2025 – August 29th, 2025
 
July 10, 2025 --- The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS.  ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between January 1, 2026 and June 30, 2026. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.
 
 
The deadline to submit a proposal is August 29th, 2025.  Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on July 30th at 7 PM ET.  The Zoom link to sign up is: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/E0qy2calSqudqufl09PL8A
 
 
The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
 
An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact.
 
Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. 
 
Please direct any questions to [email protected]