ARISS News Release No.21-49
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at the
Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
September 18, 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 Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio between the ISS and students from Children’s National Hospital. Children will take turns asking their questions of ISS Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, amateur radio call sign KE5DNI, during the ARISS radio contact. Appropriate 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 ARISS radio telebridge station.
The ARISS team in Casale Monferrato, Italy will use call sign IK1SLD to serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio ground station.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for September 21, 2021 at 2:05 pm EDT (Washington, DC) (18:05 UTC, 1:05 pm CDT, 12:05 pm MDT, 11:05 am PDT).
Children’s National Hospital is a nationally ranked, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Washington D.C. Children’s Hospital is not a school, however the hospital works with school districts to coordinate home and hospital teachers to provide an educational program for their patients. In this regard, the hospital’s purpose is to provide stimulating educational opportunities for students who must miss school due to illness or injury. Their educational goals include implementation of a STEAM curriculum for patients that encourages designing, inventing, and creating through real-world applications. Their educational state-of-the-art facility (Seacrest Studios) was established by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation in 2015, and provides kids (serving all children at any age level) an interactive space to explore radio, television, and social media, share their on-air talents and participate in programs that are broadcast directly to patient rooms. Seacrest Studios at Children’s National Hospital has been working closely with NASA and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum while continuing to provide space and STEAM related programming to their patients and patients’ families. The hospital had also partnered with members of the local ham radio club in Alexandria, Virginia.
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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. What are some of the tools that you use to help you safely breathe in space?
2. What do the Northern Lights look like in space?
3. What does your body feel like in space? How do you feel normal again?
4. Can you please describe the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in space?
5. Is the food we buy on earth the same food you eat in space?
6. How do you feel emotionally and physically during the initial takeoff? What is the atmosphere like inside of the rocket?
7. Has there been any discovery that there is other life in this universe?
8. How much of Earth can you identify from space?
9. What happens if you get injured/hurt in space? Are there doctors on board?
10. How long does it take to get to the Moon and Mars from Earth?
11. How heavy is the spacesuit?
12. What inspired you to become an astronaut?
13. What species of animals have been to space?
14. Can you have your own pets in space?
15. Where do astronauts sleep while in the spaceship?
16. How do you clean your spacesuit while in space? Do you have laundry on board?
17. What specific devices do you use to stay active and workout while in space?
18. What was the coolest part about training to become an astronaut?
19. How does it feel to come back to earth and how does your body react?
20. What galaxy would you like to go to most and why?
21. How old were you when you first went to space?
22. Where does your trash go?
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous 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.
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
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