ARISS News Release No.24-34

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

St. Luke’s College, Buenos Aires, Argentina

June 30, 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 St. Luke’s College located in Buenos Aires, 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.

St. Luke’s College is a secular school founded in 1980 for children in kindergarten, primary school and secondary school. The school provides students the opportunity to develop their artistic qualities with access to the school drama club, a choir group and a band ensemble. Prior to this ARISS contact the school’s Space Club has been focused on the International Space Station with student presentations to be given just prior to the contact. Members of the Radio Club Argentina (LURAA) are supporting students during this contact.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Matthew Dominick, amateur radio call sign KC0TOR. 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 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Amateur radio operators using call sign LU4AA, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for July 2, 2024 at 12:30:42 pm ART (Buenos Aires) (15:30:42 UTC, 11:30 am EDT, 10:30 am CDT, 9:30 am MDT, 8:30 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream via St. Luke’s College Instagram accounts

The school: @stlukes.college

Radio Club Argentino: @rca_sociedad_nacional

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What kind of process did you go through to be selected as an astronaut?

2. Could you tell us what kind of scientific research you are doing aboard the Space Station?

3. What is your favorite food to eat aboard the Space Station?

4. Did you take any special personal item with you into space?

5. Are you planning to take something back from space as a souvenir?

6. Can you tell us your favorite moment of your career as an astronaut?

7. How do EVA’s today compare to those of the Gemini or even Shuttle programs?

8. Have you ever experienced a scary moment while being on the Space Station?

9. Are you able to see the moon, the sun, other planets and stars from the ISS?

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

11. Does it ever get lonely in outer space? Are you able to communicate with your family and friends?

12. Do you think you have changed as a person since you visited space?

13. Do you think we are alone in the universe? Have you ever seen something that makes you think there might be life outside of Earth?

14. Do you think the people of the world will ever be able to travel to space every day in the same way that we use planes?

15. Do you think humans will ever go to planet Mars?

16. Do you have any advice for children living in Argentina that wish to become astronauts?

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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