ARISS News Release No.24-02
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at
Istituto Comprensivo di Villa Guardia, Villa Guardia, Italy
January 20, 2024—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an Axiom Mission (Ax-3) astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at the IC di Villa Guardia located in Villa Guardia, Italy. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.
Istituto Comprensivo di Villa Guardia consists of three primary schools (with students aged 6 to 10) and two middle schools (students aged 11 to 13) and is located in Villa Guardia, near the city of Como, in northern Italy. The school’s STEM curriculum includes two hours of science, two hours of technology every week and employs a team of teachers providing both theoretical and practical teaching with scientific and technological experiences.
This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Walter Villadei, amateur radio call sign IUØRWB. Villadei is a colonel in the Italian Air Force (ItAF), and the pilot for Axiom Space’s Ax-3 mission to the ISS on the SpaceX Dragon. Villadei currently lives in Rome, Italy, and is honored to have this opportunity to not only achieve one of his greatest life’s dreams but also to use the Ax-3 mission to ignite a passion for STEM education in teachers and students worldwide to each pursue their ambitions. 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.
The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Paardekraal, South Africa. The amateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the callsign ZS6JON, to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for January 22, 2024 at 10:35:49 am CET (Italy) (9:35:49 UTC, 4:35 am EST, 3:35 am CST, 2:35 am MST, 1:35 am PST).
The public is invited to watch the live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQUWMww9yE
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As time allows, students will ask these questions: (Translation)
1. How does an astronaut prepare himself to face a mission?
2. What kind of emotion did you feel at the first launch?
3. During your training, did you get new habits, that you still use in normal life?
4. Why did you choose to do this job?
5. How long have you studied to become an astronaut?
6. What do you like about this job?
7. What is your work goal?
8. What does the Earth look like from up there?
9. What’s the most fascinating thing you have ever seen in space?
10. Have you ever heard strange noises coming from Space?
11. Are there any particular images of space seen from the ISS that you want to describe us?
12. Have you ever seen a comet from the ISS?
13. How is floating in microgravity?
14. Are the 5 senses perceived in space as they are on Earth?
15. What time do you set on the watch on the ISS, not being able to rely on sunrise and sunset?
16. How will you feel when you set foot on Earth again?
17. How long does rehabilitation take (once you return to Earth)?
18. What does it mean to you to represent humanity in space?
19. Could it be good for humans to bring a pet in space?
20. When you come back to Earth, how is feeling gravity again?
About Axiom Mission 3:
As the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the ISS, Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) redefines the pathway to low-Earth orbit for nations around the globe. This mission marks a new era of opportunity for countries to join the international space community and access low-Earth orbit to advance exploration and research in microgravity.
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 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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