ARISS News Release No. 21-22
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact Scheduled for Students at Winmalee Public School
Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
April 17, 2021—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students will take turns asking their questions of Astronaut Victor Glover, amateur radio call sign KI5BKC. English is the language that will be used for this contact. Both onsite and remote access will be provided to the student body at the time of the contact per Covid-19 guidelines. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the telebridge station.
ARISS team member Jan Poppeliers, in Aartselaar, Belgium using radio call sign ON4ISS, will serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio station.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for April 20, 2021 at 6:28 pm [AEST] (Winmalee, Australia), (8:28 UTC, 4:28 am EDT, 3:28 am CDT, 2:28 am MDT and 1:28 am PDT).
Winmalee Public School (360 students, Kindergarten-Year 6) is one of five local primary schools in the town of Winmalee within the Blue Mountains, 80 km west of Sydney, Australia. Winmalee Public School’s STEM program curriculum includes a weekly STEM Lab for Kindergarten through Year 6 taught by a specialist primary science educator. Space-based studies also include lessons about the Solar system, space travel, space missions, and the future of space exploration. In preparation for the ARISS contact class lessons have focused on the ISS; how to track its position in orbit (using applied mathematics), as well as learning about the ISS astronauts and their roles. Other student activities included ISS model-building, designing promotional posters, and sharing their knowledge of the ISS with the local high school students. Students also participated in a space trivia competition.
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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. What is the best way to describe the feeling of microgravity?
2. How long does it take to travel to the Space Station from Earth?
3. Have you ever seen a meteor pass through Earth’s atmosphere from the ISS?
4. What experiments do you do at the International Space Station?
5. Has anything ever gone wrong or required you to take emergency action while you have been on board the International Space Station?
6. What happens if space junk hits the International Space Station?
7. What personal items would you take into space if allowed…and why?
8. How many times a year do you get supplies delivered to the ISS?
9. What is the most difficult thing about being in space?
10. What do you do for fun up there?
11. As the ISS orbits the earth, can you see weather patterns like cyclones?
12. Do you grow plants in the space station? If so, how?
13. What is your daily routine on the ISS?
14. How are crew members chosen to go out on a space walk?
15. Which animal species are currently on board the ISS and what is their purpose?
16. Does seeing Earth from a distance give you and your crew a different perspective on life?
17. What do you enjoy most about linking up with students from across the world as part of this amazing ARISS program?
18. Many of my students have talked about their dream to become astronauts. What would be your greatest advice for them?
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
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