SHANGHAI, Aug. 29 -- RADIO and astronomy lovers in Shanghai will have a chance to talk with astronauts onboard the international space station in October, the Shanghai Radio Sports Association said.

Shanghai will select about 20 children from across the nation to take part in the activity, including students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. They will mainly be elementary school students, Chen Yunchang, secretary general of the association, told the Labor Daily yesterday.

Last week, 20 students gathered in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, to talk with astronauts on the international space station for nine minutes and 55 seconds. "This time, we hope to have some breakthrough in the talking time," said Chen.

The space station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at a distance of 400 kilometers, which leaves very little time for radio communication, Chen said.

"We are trying to convince them to give us more time, even five minutes could allow us to raise several questions," Chen said.