Japan astronaut Takuya Onishi, member of the main crew of the expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), gestures prior to the launch of Soyuz MS space ship at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to eat and/or use the restroom in zero gravity, you likely won’t find out Friday, when the Lawrence Public Library is scheduled to make contact via ham radio with the International Space Station.

Since confirming the date with ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) officials last month, the library has received dozens of space-centric questions from the curious public, eventually narrowing the inquiries down to just 20. A few lucky teens will be able to pose those questions to Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi starting at 11:25 a.m. Friday in the library auditorium, 707 Vermont St.

Turns out, a lot of people are interested in the dietary and bathroom habits of astronauts serving on the space station, said Miriam Wallen, the Lawrence Public Library’s Teen Zone librarian. Because those questions are so frequently asked and relatively easy to find through a bit of online searching, the library already posted answers on Facebook.

And then there’s the issue of time. The chat, which is being facilitated through the Douglas County Amateur Radio Club, will happen over the course of just 10 minutes — “that’s the time it takes the Space Station to go from horizon to horizon above us,” Wallen said.

“It’s completely dependent on radio technology,” she added. “What we’re going to be doing is the Radio Club has built a special antenna that will be tracking the space station and actually turning with it as it passes overhead.”

The program, which is overseen by NASA and several foreign space agencies in addition to an international consortium of amateur radio organizations, is open to schools and other educational institutions worldwide.

“As I read more and more, I thought this was a really amazing opportunity,” said Wallen, who first learned of ARISS through an NASA email update several months ago. The program is intended, through direct contact with International Space Station crewmembers, to inspire young people around the world to pursue careers in STEM fields.

After securing approval from ARISS earlier this year, library staffers were given a six-month window within which the Space Station contact could potentially take place. Wallen said she was officially notified of the specific day and time late last month.

Locally, the Lawrence Creates Makerspace and U.S. Bank are also sponsoring the event, which will entail paper rockets on the library lawn, air rocket launching, and activities hosted by local entities such as KU’s Natural History Museum and the Spencer Museum of Art. Festivities begin at 10:30 a.m., with the main event (Wallen advises guests to settle into their seats early) slated for 11:25 a.m. sharp.

While everybody is welcome to attend, the question-asking spots are reserved for the library’s teen patrons, all of whom filled out an application before being selected by library staff.

Wallen hopes the event will open the minds of library visitors, young and old, to the notion that even the most seemingly “remote” possibilities are more accessible than we might assume.

“The idea that you can use a ham radio to contact the Space Station just really blew my mind. You know they have to be using radio in other kinds of communication to be able to talk to people up there, but the idea that local radio amateurs would have the ability to do this, I thought was really amazing,” Wallen said. “To be able to see that is really cool.”

This story has been edited to remove a reference to Lawrence’s first contact with the Space Station. At least one other local radio operator has reported contact with the station.