Artemis 2 astronauts who will fly around the moon in 2024 are expected to be certified ham radio operators, giving hope to the community that the astronauts may call home from deep space. Ham radio, or amateur radio, is a form of communication that allows users to communicate with each other wirelessly. Phil A. McBride, president of Radio Amateurs of Canada, believes that it is important for everyone, especially children, to have the opportunity to talk with astronauts.
The first ham radio operator in space was NASA astronaut Owen Garriott in 1983, and there has been a ham radio aboard the Russian space station Mir during the shuttle-Mir program. Today, ham operators communicate with astronauts through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) to allow students to directly talk with spaceflyers.
It is unclear if ham radio equipment will be onboard Artemis 2, but three of the four astronauts are certified hams with call signs, and the main requirements would be adequate power and storage space for radio equipment, spare time for the crew to devote to the radio during their 10-day mission, and a line of sight with Earth.
Participating in the ham community requires time, equipment space, and money to obtain certification and buy equipment. Costs vary by region, and while the community is welcoming of people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, and countries, the barriers of cost and time tend to favor males worldwide.
The ham community is starting to plan for the conclusion of the ISS program in 2030 and to bring hams onto commercial space stations. Ham radio tends to inculcate valuable cross-disciplinary skills in the community, including math skills and comfort with technology, and encourages innovation.
The ARISS collaboration involves all the major partners, and Artemis will have a similarly international approach for its crews. The astronauts themselves have said how much ham radio means to them, and it is hoped that the Artemis 2 astronauts will be able to call home from deep space using ham radio.