96-year-old amateur radio operator at Ontario Science Centre speaks with astronaut

Jean Moffett crossed an item off her bucket list on Wednesday by speaking with Commander Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut from the European Space Agency, aboard the International Space Station.

“Commander Parmitano, I have two questions to ask you: Do you have an opinion about extraterrestrial life before being on the International Space (ISS) Station and has being on the ISS changed your views?” she asked.

Moffett was asked how long she has been waiting to do this.

“Since I was 60… I was an amateur radio operator and my voice was going up to satellites and I could hear the astronauts speaking, but I could never speak to them,” she recalled.

“I thought to myself, that’s my bucket wish.”

Moffett, a licensed amateur radio operator, has volunteered for more than 30 years at the Ontario Science Centre sharing her knowledge and passion for ham radio.

“Jean is known around the world,” said Christine Pigeon, a volunteer coordinator at the Ontario Science Centre.

“There are people who connect with Jean on Thursdays and Sundays when she’s volunteering and it’s wonderful for Jean.”

Moffett mentioned more than once that it would be a dream come true to connect with an astronaut. So with the help of her fellow volunteers, along with the staff from the Ontario Science Centre and amateur radio on the International Space Station, her wish was granted.

“It was like a dream all the way through,” Moffett said.

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“Today meant more than the world to Jean, it means the universe to her,” said Pigeon.