ARISS News Release No. 24-50

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Fasta Villa Eucaristica School, Córdoba City Argentina

August 28, 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 the Fasta Villa Eucaristica School located in Córdoba City Argentina. 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.

Fasta Villa Eucarística School (FVES) is a large Catholic school located in Córdoba City, Argentina with about 1800 students in 3 levels (Kindergarten, Primary School and Secondary School). This school is part of a network of 27 schools in Argentina (and in other countries) and includes the university RED FASTA – Fraternidad de Agrupaciones Santo Tomás de Aquino. FVES is involved in environmental issues and has been participating in the Globe Program since 2017. In all grade levels students study subjects that include, Earth studies, Space, the solar system/planets, global warming and weather.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Mike Barratt, amateur radio call sign KD5MIJ. 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 Córdoba City Argentina. Amateur radio operators using call sign LU1HKO, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 30, 2024 at 12:29:39 pm ART (Argentina) (15:29:39 UTC, 11:29 am EDT, 10:29 am CDT, 9:29 am MDT, 8:29 am PDT

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Could you tell us what kind of scientific research you are doing at the moment and what benefits will it have for our lives?

2. What are your daily activities inside the station?

3. How do you measure time as you can see the sunsets and sunrises many times?

4. How do you get out of the station and how often? What are the reasons?

5. What role does teamwork play in the success of a mission?

6. What was the most difficult aspect of living and working in space?

7. Have you ever experienced a scary, unique or humorous moment while being on the Space Station?

8. We suppose that your perception of natural beauty has changed a lot since you are there, can you share an experience where the beauty left you speechless?

9. Carl Sagan's poem 'Pale Blue Dot' shows the Earth as a tiny speck from space. How do you interpret this in light of the dignity and importance of human beings?

10. How have you changed as a person since you visited space?

11. What advice can you give to the students from our school Fasta Villa Eucarística to encourage them to be better and make a change?

12. Do you feel closer to God in space?

13. What is the most challenging part of being an astronaut? And what is the most rewarding aspect of it?

14. How do you stay in touch with your loved ones during the mission and did you take any special personal item with you?

15. What is your worst fear and how do you manage it?

16. Are we alone in the universe?

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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