ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.   21-63   

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

ARISS Contact is Scheduled for Students at Hino Elementary School

And Canna Project-Canna School Contact Team Suzaka, Japan

 

 

December 1, 2021—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

 

This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students in Suzaka, Japan and Astronaut Raja Chari, amateur radio call sign KI5LIU. Students will take turns asking their questions. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. 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 radio relay ground station.

 

Amateur radio operators, using the call sign 8NØCAN, will operate the ham radio ground station for this contact.

 

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for December 3, 2021, at 7:02 pm JST (Suzaka, Japan), (10:02 UTC, 5:02 am EST, 4:02 am CST, 3:02 am MST and 2:02 am PST).

 

In 2020, students at Hino Elementary school along with students in 20 other Japanese schools (from elementary to senior high schools) participated in the Canna Project Peace Space Mission. This project consisted of sending seeds of the Canna plant to the ISS then returning these seeds back to earth to be propagated by these same students (who had harvested the seeds). The Canna plant produces a bright red flower and was quick to colonize the area near ground zero after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The seeds were sent to the ISS via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 7, 2020 and returned to earth August 3, 2020. These returned seeds, so called “Space Canna”, produced flowering canna under the care of these students. Their blooms symbolize a “baton of peace” and have been shared with students at the United Nations International School in Vietnam, the Gallaudet University in the United States, and children in 16 other countries. This ARISS contact (previously cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic) will facilitate the school’s goal: inspiring students’ interest and curiosity in space. The Canna Amateur Radio Club will be supporting the students during this contact.

 

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

 

1. What does space smell like?

2. What was it like when the rocket broke through the atmosphere?

3. Is the feeling of weightlessness like floating in a pool?

4. Do you ever feel nauseous while in zero-gravity? What is your favorite part of the ISS’s interior?

5. What is the most popular space food?

6. Canna seeds were planted and taken to the ISS for five months and were returned to the Earth to continue growing here. Are there any affects to the growth of the plants which have been in space and later returned to Earth?

7. Can plants, including canna, grow in the ISS?

8. How does a plant vine grow in space?

9. I heard that the canna seeds that we launched were held with Velcro, but are there any other items that are also held together with Velcro?

10. Do you have any things like plants on the ISS to help you relax? If not, what kind of plants would you like to have?

11. How do astronauts, who stay in space, feel about the various things that happen on Earth while they are up there?

12. What will you do if you get injured or sick in space on the ISS?

13. Are there any viruses in space?

14. What would you like to do first when you come back to Earth?

15. What kind of skills should I acquire as a child to become an astronaut?   

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ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio Operations 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 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, and NASA’s Space communications and Navigation program. 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 www.ariss.org

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Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

                                                                              

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