A 96 year-old Canadian woman was crying tears of joy after she accidentally fulfilled a lifelong out-of-this-world bucket list dream.
For decades, Jean Moffatt has been reaching out over the airwaves with her ham radio during her time volunteering at the Ontario Science Center teaching young whippersnappers how to use traditional amateur radio.
“You can always talk to other people, in other parts of the world,” Moffatt told CTV News Toronto. “You can send your signals to satellites. I’ve talked to people from the Arctic to the Antarctic.”
Recently Moffatt fulfilled a long-held dream of hers when her ham radio connection was relayed through northern Italy and allowed her to talk to Commander Luca Parmitano aboard the International Space Station.
She admitted to CTV that it had always been her dream to talk with an astronaut, and Commander Luca said it was his honor to speak with her. The near-centenarian asked him whether his opinions on extra-terrestrial life had changed since departing the atmosphere and what he thought about cleaning up the environment.
The idea for connecting her ham radio to the extra-atmospheric radio waves came after her 96th birthday. “She mentioned to me that one of the things she’s always wanted to do was talk to an astronaut,” Christine Pigeon, the volunteer coordinator at the Science Centre told CTV News.
An email with NASA and three months were needed, but when the rough connection finally went through, Moffatt’s conversation with Commander Luca brought tears to her eyes, with the radio gal admitting it was the “highlight” of her life.
(WATCH the inspiring CTV video below)
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