An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Rainbow Middle School, Rainbow City, AL on 04 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:29 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between N4ISS and K4JMC. The contact should be audible over the state of Alabama and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Our school is located in North East Alabama. We are a 6th - 8th grade school of about 700 students. This is an exciting adventure for our students to learn more about the challenges and opportunities of space exploration. We hope to enliven their curiosity and interest through efforts and experiences before, during, and after the ARISS contact. This also provides our students the occasion to learn about amateur radio and how it works.

We have completed a variety of activities and lessons which have heightened our anticipation for our contact date. Many of our students did not understand the International Space Station or what it is used for before we started this process. On October 19, and November 18, our 6th grade classes joined to watch a replay of both ISS launches. It was very exciting to watch Expedition Crew 49 and 50 begin their journey into orbit. We have viewed tours of the ISS and have watched recent interviews with crew members aboard the ISS. Many students have downloaded a NASA app to keep up with current news and happenings. We are currently researching the crew members of Expeditions 49 and 50 to understand their background and interests. Half of the 6th grade curriculum focuses on the Sun Earth Moon System and Planetary Systems. Various lab activities are helping us to explore gravity on different planets, construct and utilize scale models of our solar system, simulate different planetary and solar system processes, and expand our student's overall knowledge of the Solar System. After our contact in January we will be continuing activities and research of space exploration, the ISS, and amateur radio.

As teachers we have been energized as we have learned more and more about the ISS and NASA. It has been exciting to share with our students in this process of learning and preparation. We are amazed as we study our Earth and beyond.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. What made you want to become an astronaut?

2. How does it feel to achieve something as cool as being in space?

3. Who did you look up to when you were young?

4. What was the hardest thing you went through while training to become an

astronaut?

5. During blast off, did you feel any physical pain or sickness?

6. Before launch what were you thinking?

7. How does being in space affect blood pressure?

8. Because it takes two days to get to the ISS, how do you eat?

9. What was the hardest challenge for you to overcome knowing that you would

be in space for a long period of time?

10. How, and how often, do you communicate with your family while aboard

the ISS?

11. Now that you have been in space a while, what simulations on Earth did

you find to be most helpful?

12. What's the most fun thing you do for entertainment while aboard the

ISS?

13. Does the change in gravity cause your daily chores and work to be

easier or harder?

14. What happens if you were to get sick in space?

15. Are the astronauts able to vote while in space?

16. How do you wash your dirty laundry while aboard the ISS?

17. While on ISS, do you miss Earth's ways of doing life?

18. Is there a minimum age limit for space travel?

19. What is one thing that you enjoy doing in space that you can't do on

Earth?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the

International Space Station (ARISS).

To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status

Next planned event(s):

TBD

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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org.

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN

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