ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.23-13

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Stone Magnet Middle School, Melbourne, Florida, USA

March28, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboardthe International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Stone Magnet MiddleSchool located in Melbourne, FL.  ARISSconducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year betweenstudents around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard theISS.

Stone Magnet Middle School (Stone), founded in 1954, has 649students (ages 12 to 15) in the seventh and eighth grades. Stone’s educational foundationprovides STEAM-based programs that show the interdisciplinary connections amongthe sciences, technologies, engineering, arts, and mathematics for students acrossall classrooms. Prior to this ARISS contact, students have been learning aboutthe ISS, NASA research on the ISS (by conducting their own ISS-basedexperiments) and radio science (radio waves). Members of the Platinum CoastAmateur Radio Society (PCARS) are supporting the school during this ARISScontact.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions ofAstronaut Steve Bowen, amateur radio call sign KI5BKB. The downlink frequencyfor this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners that are withinthe ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contactis in Melbourne, FL. Amateur radio operators using call sign AJ9N, will operatethe ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for March 31, 2023 at 2:07:55 pm EDT (Melbourne)(18:07:55 UTC, 1:07 pm CDT, 12:07 pm MDT, 11:07 am PDT).

Thepublic is invited to watch the live stream at: https://youtube.com/channel/UCuO96ZDAoLWVlko5CyATxzw

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1.How does returning to Earth affect your physical and mental health?

2.What food and drinks do you consume, and does it taste the same as it does onEarth?

3.Do you see any objects speeding by the space station?

4.What plants are currently growing on the ISS, and what is the purpose forthem?

5.Did you have special training before you traveled to the ISS, if so, what didit entail?

6.I play the cello, what instruments have been brought to space, and does itsound different?

7.What was one of the biggest surprises/adaptations you had to make that you werenot prepared for?

8.How do you sleep in space, and do you have trouble sleeping?

9.What exercises do you do and how long and often do you have to do themfor?

10.What is the process to become an astronaut?

11.How do you contact family and friends?

12.What type of work and research do you do?

13.Are there any factors that could delay travel back to Earth?

14.How much free time do you get and what do you do for entertainment?

15.What happens if you get sick or bleed in space?

16.What kinds of supplies get delivered to the ISS and how often?

17.Do you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it?

18.What is the process of converting urine into clean drinking water?

19.What is the most mentally challenging thing about the transition from Earth toSpace?

20.What inspired you to become an astronaut?

21.How do you use the bathroom in space?

22.What does a typical day look like for you?

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 Radio Amateur SatelliteCorporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS NationalLab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) andNASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN). The primary goal ofARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts,and mathematics 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

MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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