Earthlings and astronauts chat away via ham radio

Nick Hague floats inside Europe’s Columbus laboratory module during a ham radio session using the International Space Station’s call sign NA1SS in 2019. — Nasa

The International Space Station cost more than US$100bil (RM401bil). A ham radio set can be had for a few hundred bucks.

Perhaps that explains, in part, the appeal of having one of humankind’s greatest scientific inventions communicate with Earth via technology that’s more than 100 years old. But perhaps there’s a simpler explanation for why astronauts and ham radio operators have been talking, and talking, for years.