ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.23-06

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Gymnasium Christian-Ernestinum, Bayreuth, Germany

February12, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between astronauts aboard theInternational Space Station (ISS) and students at the GymnasiumChristian-Ernestinum located in Bayreuth, Germany.  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.

Christian-Ernestinum (GCE) Gymnasium is one of five high schoolsin the city of Bayreuth, and was founded in 1664 by the sovereign Margrave ofBrandenburg, Christian Ernst. GCE teaches Latin and English languages to allstudents, but also offers French, and Spanish. GCE’s STEM program offersstudies in the fields of physics, chemistry and computer science, and maintainsa student exchange program with Italy, France and Greece. They also include electivecourses on research and advances in the natural sciences, astronomy, electronicsand robotics.

GCE, as the host to this ARISS contact, recognizes that direct radiocontact with an astronaut in space is a unique and extraordinary experience forstudents. Therefore, GCE has partnered with local radio club: DARC OrtsverbandBayreuth, whose members have provided technical support by setup/operation ofthe amateur radio station as well as technical instruction to students duringworkshops. DARC members also enabled students/teachers to participate in the world-wide,Ham Field Day event, with support for Ham licensing. Students also participatedin a special supporting program that included presentations/workshops onastronomy/physics.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions ofAstronaut Koichi Wakata, amateur radio call sign KI5TMN. 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 at the school in Bayreuth, Germany. Amateur radio operators using call sign DK0BT,will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 14, 2023 at 11:20 am CET (GER) (10:20:12UTC, 5:20 am EST, 4:20 am CST, 3:20 am MST, 2:20am PST).

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1.How long does it take to prepare for a space flight? What content is part ofthe training and what did you enjoy the most?

2.How long will you be on the ISS? And will you fly to the ISS a second time?

3.How does a rocket launch feel and how difficult is it to move in zero gravity?

4.Is the ISS decorated for birthdays or carnival?

5.What's the first thing you'll do when you get back to earth?

6.How does weightlessness and the changed day-night rhythm affect the psyche andhow do you deal with it personally? Have you been homesick too?

7.Do you have free time on board and how can you use it?

8.What have you personally learned from this mission that you would like to passon to everyone?

9.How often can you contact friends and family and how is this technicallyimplemented (smartphone, internet, radio)?

10.What do you like best about living on the ISS?

11.Is there privacy on the ISS, e.g. a separate little corner or somethingsimilar?

12.How is the air in the ISS?

13.Friends and family aside, is there anything that's only on earth that you miss?

14.With the photos from the ISS you only ever see the earth, what does the view ofthe starry sky look like?

15.Can you hear or feel impacts from so called space debris on the ISS?

16.How does the food taste on the ISS and which earthly food do you miss the most?

17.Have you already been involved in an external mission and how is contact withthe "spacewalker" maintained?

18.What do you think of space tourism?

19.What happens to all the equipment after the mission?

20.What do you do during the flight to the ISS and what are the biggest challengesinvolved?

21.What happens in case of extreme health emergencies?

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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