ARISS News Release No.24-09
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at
Lilburn Elementary School, Lilburn, Georgia, USA
February 6, 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 Lilburn Elementary School located in Lilburn, GA. 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.
Lilburn is a K-5, Title I, public school serving nearly 1,350 students, ages 5-11 years. The school’s current curriculum includes relevant STEM and Computer Science topics across all grade levels and disciplines. In advance of this ARISS contact, students have also been learning more about Earth’s systems, robotics, and emergency communications. In STEM classes, students used the Design Thinking Process to solve real-world problems in space such as how people can one day live on the moon, designing solutions for the spidernaut experiment, as well as how to grow food in space. Computer science and STEM teachers that attended a Space Pioneers Amateur Radio Kit Initiative (SPARKI) workshop then showed students, using lessons and activities, how to communicate through radio. For example, fifth graders in STEM classes built a modified telegraph to communicate between classrooms using the telegraph key. In the electricity unit, students used circuit kits (like the ones provided by SPARKI) and Makey-Makey kits to create simple circuits. The school is working with members of the Gwinnett American Radio Society (GARS), ARRL, and the North Fulton Amateur Radio League (NFARL). Members of these local ham radio organizations (NRARL) will help with the technical aspects of ham radio operation on the campus and with conducting the ARISS contact.
This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, amateur radio call sign KI5WSL. 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 Lilburn, GA. Amateur radio operators using call sign K4RGK, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 7, 2024 at 9:24 am EST (GA, USA) (14:24 UTC, 8:24 am CST, 7:24 am MST, 6:24 am PST).
The public is invited to watch the live stream at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuI4sKDBpERtEFs9bFrRMFA/live
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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. Our teachers help us focus not just on academics, but on emotional health as well. I would like to know, how are YOU doing?
2. What is the grossest thing about living in space?
3. Our school has many gardens that students help take care of. What kinds of plants are you growing on the ISS?
4. Have you ever had a big emergency in Space? If so, what was the situation?
5. What's it like working with astronauts from other countries?
6. How long and how often do you have to wear the space suit, and do you get tired of it?
7. Have you read the Dog Man Books? If not, what kinds of books do you enjoy reading most?
8. What is something that surprised you that you didn’t expect about living in space?
9. What is your favorite hobby that is not space related?
10. What is the most important thing you have to do on the ISS when you wake up?
11. What are you looking forward to the most when you return to Earth?
12. How do you entertain yourself on the ISS?
13. How did your family react to the news that you would be going to the ISS?
14. Can you plant a flower in your area, or how do you personalize your area while you are living on the ISS to bring you joy?
15. Besides astronaut training with your space agency, how did you personally prepare for your journey to the ISS?
16. Can you see weather systems on Earth from space and if so, what have you observed?
17. How would kinetic sand behave in space?
18. What character traits do you think make a great astronaut?
19. What do you get tired of while being in space?
20. What is a typical day like 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 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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