*ARISS News Release No. 25-03*

*Dave Jordan, AA4KN *

*ARISS PR*

*[email protected] [email protected]*

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at *

*Federal Telecommunications Institute and Vermont School,* *Mexico City, Mexico*

January 14, 2025—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 Vermont School located in Mexico City, Mexico. 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.

Vermont School teaches Junior and High School level students English, French, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Their goal is to offer holistic education based on UNESCO’s action frameworks, promoting life transformation, peace, sustainable development, and equal opportunities for all. Their programs also emphasize critical thinking, self-sufficiency, and adaptability.

This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Nick Hague, amateur radio call sign KG5TMV. 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 Casale Monferrato, Italy. The amateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the call sign, IK1SLD to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for January 17, 2025 at 11:00 am CST (Mexico City, MX) (17:00:18 UTC, 12:00 pm EST, 10:00 am MST, 9:00 am PST).

*_______________________________*

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What steps did you take to become an astronaut and to travel to space?

2. What did you find challenging in your training?

3. What roles do astronauts perform on the ISS?

4. What kind of food do you typically eat in a day on the ISS?

5. What happens to the liquids in the body when there is no gravity?

6. How often do you get sick while in space, and how do you undergo medical check-ups?

7. Does time feel like it passes faster or slower when you are in space?

8. How does the silence of space compare to the quietest moments you experience on Earth?

9. How did your training help you achieve mission success on the ISS?

10. What is the most impressive thing you have ever seen in space?

11. Is it possible to observe Earth rotation on its axis or its orbit around the Sun from space?

12. What has been the greatest challenge of living and working in space, and how did you overcome it?

13. What research are you currently conducting in your lab?

14. What crops have you been able to grow on the ISS so far?

15. How are you preparing for deep space exploration missions of the future?

16. If you could go back in time five years, what would you change and why?

17. What is the next step you aim to take in your career?

*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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