Talking to André

Students stand in line ready to ask their question to ESA astronaut André Kuipers on the International Space Station.

The communication was set up by ARISS, or Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, an organisation that promotes contact with the Space Station through basic radio technology.

In the background the position of the Space Station at that moment is visible on a map of the world. Since the Space Station circles Earth at over 28 000 km an hour, only ten minutes of direct radio contact are available at a time, after which it flies out of range.