ARISS News Release No. 24-83

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Colégio do Castanheiro, Ponta Delgada, Azores

November 23, 2024—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at Colégio do Castanheiro located in Ponta Delgada in the Azores. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Colégio do Castanheiro is a private school located in the heart of Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The school has about 600 students, ranging in age from preschool to 12th grade (3 to 18 years old). The school provides extracurricular activities such as robotics, programming, and lab work. Students have participated in multiple projects, one of which is CanSat.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Don Pettit, amateur radio call sign KD5MDT. 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 relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Ponta Delgada. Amateur radio operators using call sign CQ8CDC, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for November 26, 2024 at 1:57:32 pm AZOT (Azores) (14:57:32 UTC, 9:57 am EST, 8:57 am CST, 7:57 am MST, 6:57 am PST).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/live/ORRXzIPnjvg

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What does it feel like to be in space?

2. What is it like to live in space?

3. What happens if someone gets sick in space?

4. How are basic needs managed in space?

5. Can you faint in space?

6. What are the differences between living in space and on Earth?

7. Is it very cold in space?

8. What do astronauts eat on the ISS?

9. Can you drink soda in space?

10. What do you do in your free time? Are you allowed to play video games?

11. How do astronauts drink water in space?

12. How long can astronauts stay in space without returning to Earth?

13. How do you eat food in space (cutlery, etc.)?

14. Do you miss your family when you are in space?

15. Do astronauts eat the same food in space?

16. Do you feel safe when you have to work outside the ISS?

17. If a live plant is taken to space, will it still photosynthesize?

18. Are the mathematical calculations the hardest part of being an astronaut?

19. How does a machine that creates gravity in space work?

20. Do you have any fears being in space?

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 ISS. In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this 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 take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org.

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

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