ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.24-02

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Istituto Comprensivo di Villa Guardia, Villa Guardia, Italy

January20, 2024—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an Axiom Mission(Ax-3) astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students atthe IC di Villa Guardia located in Villa Guardia, Italy.  ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateurradio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew memberswith ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Istituto Comprensivo di Villa Guardia consists of three primaryschools (with students aged 6 to 10) and two middle schools (students aged 11to 13) and is located in Villa Guardia, near the city of Como, in northernItaly. The school’s STEM curriculum includes two hours of science, twohours of technology every week and employs a team of teachers providing boththeoretical and practical teaching with scientific and technologicalexperiences.

This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask theirquestions of astronaut Walter Villadei, amateur radio call sign IUØRWB. Villadeiis a colonel in the Italian Air Force (ItAF), and the pilot for Axiom Space’sAx-3 mission to the ISS on the SpaceX Dragon. Villadei currently lives in Rome,Italy, and is honored to have this opportunity to not only achieve one of hisgreatest life’s dreams but also to use the Ax-3 mission to ignite a passion forSTEM education in teachers and students worldwide to each pursue theirambitions.  The downlink frequency forthis contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within theISS-footprint that also encompasses the telebridge station.

The ARISS amateur radio ground station(telebridge station) for this contact is in Paardekraal, South Africa. Theamateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the callsignZS6JON, to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for January 22, 2024 at 10:35:49 am CET (Italy)(9:35:49 UTC, 4:35 am EST, 3:35 am CST, 2:35 am MST, 1:35am PST).

Thepublic is invited to watch the live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQUWMww9yE

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions: (Translation)

1.How does an astronaut prepare himself to face a mission?

2.What kind of emotion did you feel at the first launch?

3.During your training, did you get new habits, that you still use in normallife?

4.Why did you choose to do this job?

5.How long have you studied to become an astronaut?

6.What do you like about this job?

7.What is your work goal?

8.What does the Earth look like from up there?

9.What’s the most fascinating thing you have ever seen in space?

10.Have you ever heard strange noises coming from Space?

11.Are there any particular images of space seen from the ISS that you want todescribe us?

12.Have you ever seen a comet from the ISS?

13.How is floating in microgravity?

14.Are the 5 senses perceived in space as they are on Earth?

15.What time do you set on the watch on the ISS, not being able to rely on sunriseand sunset?

16.How will you feel when you set foot on Earth again?

17.How long does rehabilitation take (once you return to Earth)?

18.What does it mean to you to represent humanity in space?

19.Could it be good for humans to bring a pet in space?

20.When you come back to Earth, how is feeling gravity again?

AboutAxiom Mission 3:

Asthe first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the ISS, Axiom Mission 3(Ax-3) redefines the pathway to low-Earth orbit for nations around the globe.This mission marks a new era of opportunity for countries to join theinternational space community and access low-Earth orbit to advance explorationand research in microgravity.

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the InternationalSpace Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radiosocieties and the space agencies that support the International Space Station(ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League(ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur SatelliteCorporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN)and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS isto promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, andmathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts viaamateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before andduring these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities takepart in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org

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MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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