ARISS News Release                                                                                                 No.  21-15

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS ContactScheduled for Students Sponsored by Peace Corps Moldova and a Consortium ofEducational Institutions, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova

March 1, 2021—AmateurRadio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received scheduleconfirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the groupthat puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around theglobe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be a multipoint telebridge contact via amateur radio and studentsfrom various schools in the Republic of Moldova. Students will take turnsasking their questions of Astronaut Mike Hopkins, amateurradio call sign KF5LJG. Englishis the language that will be used for this contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is145.800 MHz.

ARISSteam member David Payne, using call sign NA7V in Portland, OR will serve as therelay amateur radio station.

The ARISS radio contact isscheduled for March 3, 2021 at 3:09 pm EET (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova), (13:09 UTC, 8:09 am EST, 7:09am CST, 6:09 am MST and 5:09 am PST).

The public is invited to watch the livestream at: https://m.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsMoldova/%C2%A0and%C2%A0%C2%A0https://m.face...

The Moldova PeaceCorps (MPC) will be the host organization for the ARISS contact. Ninety students(ages 10-18 years old) from a consortium of educational institutions, ruralschools, and libraries from nine Moldovan villages throughout the Republic ofMoldova (Molovata, Salcuta, Bacioi,Singerei, Gura Bicului, Stefanesti, Cociulia, Cirpesti and Cobani) will participatein this contact. Peace Corps is an educational organization in Moldova,promoting economic and civic development with a particular focus on developinglocal resources in rural and suburban communities. Another focus of MPC is to provide youth inMoldovan villages with access to STEM opportunities and build capacity amonglocal teachers/librarians to implement STEM activities in their curricula. Insupport of this contact the MPC partnered with the staff at the Centre ofExcellence for Space Sciences and Technologies within the Technical Universityof Moldova, the United StatesPeace Corps Volunteer Coordinator, and the participating schools/libraries. Inpreparation of the ARISS contact, STEM studies for all grades have incorporatedclass topics/activities that include: temperature extremes in space, organismsliving in space, water chemistry on off-world environments, effects on humanbiology in space, and effects on electronics in the space environment(microsatellites).

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1.Why did you choose this job?

2.What is the daily routine of an international space station spaceman?

3.What happens in space if someone catches a cold?

4.How is it to live and work in space?

5.How do you feel about the fact that the last mission to the moon was in 1972?

6.What type of experiments do you manage to conduct on board?

7.What can an astronaut bring with him on board and what is not allowed?

8.How do you deal with a major medical emergency on board of a space craft? Is adoctor part of the crew?

9.Are the ISS modules separated by country/agency or you all are in permanentcollaboration with other groups?

10.What is the most difficult thing to get used to in lack of gravity?

11.How did you find out this was the perfect job for you?

12.What is the hardest part of being an astronaut?

13.How much time does it take to prepare for an event like this call?

14.How long does it take to recover from a trip to the International SpaceStation? Physically and mentally?

15.What is the main purpose of the station?

16.What is your favorite food to eat in space?

17.Do you ever call your family from space?

18.How does the Earth look from space?

19.What advice do you have for students who want to be astronauts?

20.Do you have a favorite space joke?

ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations onthe ISS

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 arethe Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio RelayLeague (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s SpaceCommunications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promoteexploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematicstopics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew membersaboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students,educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org

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MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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