Students from Kopernik Observatory & Science Center's summer camp used ham radio to speak directly to an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.

6th-grader Gage Taylor talks to an ISS astronaut using ham radio.

"It was awesome," said sixth-grader Gage Taylor who asked ISS mission specialist Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor if the sun looks different without the atmosphere filtering it?

"I was surprised because I thought it might look different. But she said it's not that different because they are not that far from Earth."

Students and Auñón-Chancellor used ham radios to communicate for approximately 10 minutes.

Monday's conversation is part of the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS) program.