ARISS News Release No.24-13
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at
IES Pedro Simón Abril High School, Alcaraz, Spain
March 01, 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 IES Pedro Simón Abril High School located in Alcaraz, Spain. 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.
IES Pedro Simón Abril High School provides secondary education, including a STEM curriculum, for students from 14 different towns in the area. The school established a Space Science-oriented cooperation program with Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Four years of hands-on activities have allowed students to learn about ARISS and prepare for this ARISS contact. Students (with help from local ham operators) have built and maintained a local FM amateur radio station (Studio21 project), allowing them to learn about radio science and radio equipment. Students have also tracked the ISS to download SSTV images during ISS SSTV events, and listen to contacts between ham operators transmitting through the ISS. Students are also setting up a school amateur radio ground station.
This will be a telebridge 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 telebridge station.
The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S. The amateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the callsign K6DUE, to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for March 4, 2024 at 12:21 pm CET (Alcaraz, Spain) (11:21 UTC, 6:21 am EST, 5:21 am CST, 4:21 am MST, 3:21 am PST).
The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xgk4YZT5w4
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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. How does a geomagnetic storm affect the ISS?
2. Can the ARISS radio be used as an emergency backup in case other communication links fail?
3. What is your opinion on space tourism?
4. How did you spend your time as your spacecraft was on its way to the ISS?
5. What did you feel when the launch vehicle stages separated?
6. Are the vegetables you grow there as tasty as the ones we grow on Earth?
7. If you went to the Moon or Mars, would you like to still be able to communicate with students from all around the world as we are doing now?
8. Is it possible to observe or photograph our village from the Cupola?
9. Do you listen to music using streaming services as we do? What genres do you and the rest of the crew like?
10. How do you adapt your sleeping patterns to the 16 sunrises and sunsets you experience each day?
11. Which is your favorite spacesuit?
12. What is the most unexpected thing you have learned during your time in space?
13. Are there any practices that you do on the ISS that you think could be applied for everyday life on Earth?
14. How do the stars and other celestial bodies appear different when viewed from the ISS compared to Earth?
15. Is underwater spacewalk training accurate?
16. Do you think Mixed Reality could be some day applied to EVA spacesuit helmets?
17. Do you believe the speed of light will limit deep space travel and communications?
18. Are helicopters such as Ingenuity the future for robotic planetary exploration?
19. Could you tell us one everyday life thing that is easier to do in space than on Earth?
20. Is Artificial Intelligence used on the ISS as of today?
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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