ARISS News Release No.23-13
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at
Stone Magnet Middle School, Melbourne, Florida, USA
March 28, 2023—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 Stone Magnet Middle School located in Melbourne, FL. 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.
Stone Magnet Middle School (Stone), founded in 1954, has 649 students (ages 12 to 15) in the seventh and eighth grades. Stone’s educational foundation provides STEAM-based programs that show the interdisciplinary connections among the sciences, technologies, engineering, arts, and mathematics for students across all classrooms. Prior to this ARISS contact, students have been learning about the ISS, NASA research on the ISS (by conducting their own ISS-based experiments) and radio science (radio waves). Members of the Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society (PCARS) are supporting the school during this ARISS contact.
This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of Astronaut Steve Bowen, amateur radio call sign KI5BKB. 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 Melbourne, FL. Amateur radio operators using call sign AJ9N, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for March 31, 2023 at 2:07:55 pm EDT (Melbourne) (18:07:55 UTC, 1:07 pm CDT, 12:07 pm MDT, 11:07 am PDT).
The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://youtube.com/channel/UCuO96ZDAoLWVlko5CyATxzw
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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. How does returning to Earth affect your physical and mental health?
2. What food and drinks do you consume, and does it taste the same as it does on Earth?
3. Do you see any objects speeding by the space station?
4. What plants are currently growing on the ISS, and what is the purpose for them?
5. Did you have special training before you traveled to the ISS, if so, what did it entail?
6. I play the cello, what instruments have been brought to space, and does it sound different?
7. What was one of the biggest surprises/adaptations you had to make that you were not prepared for?
8. How do you sleep in space, and do you have trouble sleeping?
9. What exercises do you do and how long and often do you have to do them for?
10. What is the process to become an astronaut?
11. How do you contact family and friends?
12. What type of work and research do you do?
13. Are there any factors that could delay travel back to Earth?
14. How much free time do you get and what do you do for entertainment?
15. What happens if you get sick or bleed in space?
16. What kinds of supplies get delivered to the ISS and how often?
17. Do you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it?
18. What is the process of converting urine into clean drinking water?
19. What is the most mentally challenging thing about the transition from Earth to Space?
20. What inspired you to become an astronaut?
21. How do you use the bathroom in space?
22. What does a typical day look like for you?
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, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN). 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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