ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.23-07

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at

Stella Maris College, Gzira, Malta

 

February 13, 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 Stella Maris College located in Gzira, Malta.  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.

 

Stella Maris College is part of a network (La Salle Malta) of Lasallian Colleges that include De La Salle College and the Mellieha Retreat Centre. La Salle Malta was founded as a single school in 1903 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and is now the La Salle Malta’s Lasallian Colleges, run by the Malta Trust of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Stella Maris College is hosting this ARISS contact for participating students in grades 5 through 10 (ages 9-15 years). Stella Maris College has partnered with members of the Malta Amateur Radio League (MARL) (9H1MRL) who will provide support during the ARISS contact. Members of MARL have also made presentations to students about amateur radio, and demonstrated satellite tracking and talking to other hams through amateur radio satellites. As a member of MARL, Stella Maris College has previously operated their own amateur radio station. Members of other organizations that are also part of educational activities surrounding this ARISS contact include; the University of Malta, the Malta College for Science and Technology, Malta Council for Science and Technology and Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology.

 

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of Astronaut Josh Cassada, amateur radio call sign KI5CRH. 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 Gzira, Malta. Amateur radio operators using call sign 9H1MRL, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

 

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 15, 2023 at 1:48 pm CET (Malta) (12:48UTC, 7:48 am EST, 6:48 am CST, 5:48 am MST, 4:48 am PST).

 

The public is invited to watch the live stream at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk-Onkbr6PY

_______________________________

 

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What do astronauts normally eat or drink on the space station?

2. How do you sleep in space? Is it comfortable?

3. What do you do in your free time?

4. How long is the training to actually go in space?

5. Why do astronauts wear space suits?

6. Is there a maximum time limit for staying in space?

7. How do you stay healthy (physically and mentally): in space?

8. When you are going up in space, crossing the ozone layer does it hurt?

9. What side effects do you get when returning from space?

10. Can kids go to space?

11. Did you discover something new from another galaxy?

12. What does space food taste like?

13. How does it feel like living in low gravity?

14. What inspired you to work in space and the International Space Station?

15. What are your emotions during lift-off?

16. Do astronauts need to go to the hospital or get checked out when they return to Earth?

17. What do you miss most from Earth when you are in space?

18. How is one chosen to go on the ISS? What inspired you to become an astronaut?

19. What does the training to go to space consist of?

20. Why is there no gravity in space? How does it feel?

21. At what speed does the ISS travel and how many times do you circle the Earth in a day

22. How is air generated inside the ISS?

23. What is the best thing to do when you are in a rocket?

24. How would you describe the spacewalk in a few words?

25. What is the hardest part when living in space?

26. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen in space?

 

 

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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