ARISS News Release                                                                                                    No.22-48

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital (at VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center) and Seacrest Studios, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

August22, 2022—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 (patients) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’sHospital located in Nashville, TN.  ARISSconducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year betweenstudents around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard theISS.

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital’s School Program and Seacrest Studios strive to provide anatmosphere of normalization for children that are undergoing treatment by workingwith the patient’s local school (for students in kindergarten through 12thgrade) to provide support for their academic needs. These young patients mightbe hospitalized for several weeks due to an acute medical need or routinelycome to the hospital for short, intermittent stays for specific treatment.  Seacrest Studios (located inside the hospital)is a closed-circuit, multi-media broadcast center envisioned and built by theRyan Seacrest Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the hospitalexperience for these children while inspiring them through entertainment andeducation-focused initiatives. The Studios provide programming (includingSTEM-based programs) that instructs, inspires, and engages patients.  In preparation for this ARISS contact, thehospital created a unit of study focused on space exploration and HAM radiotechnology that provided a progression of activities throughout the year.  Members of the Vanderbilt University AmateurRadio Club (VUARC) and the Williamson County Amateur Radio Group have partneredwith the hospital by providing students with hands-on lessons in ham radio/ radiotechnology and amateur radio station operation during this ARISS radio contact.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio and students will take turns asking their questionsof Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, amateur radio call sign KO5MOS. Local Covid-19protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlinkfrequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners thatare within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contactis in Nashville, TN. Amateur radio operators using call sign N4FR, will operatethe ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 24, 2022 at 12:42:54 pm CDT (Nashville,TN) (17:42:54 UTC, 1:42 pm EDT, 11:42 am MDT,10:42 am PDT).

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1.How does being away from your family for long periods of time affect you whileyou’re in space?

2.How much do you talk to your family?

3.Can your family and friends send care packages or food?

4.What happens if you get sick in space?

5.Since I have cystic fibrosis, would being on a space station affect my lungs?

6.Has anything happened that you felt might be caused by aliens?

7.What does it feel like when you launch into space?

8.How does it feel to re-enter the atmosphere, and does it affect you at all?

9.Can you see a storm (hurricane) develop in space?

10.What do the stars look like being unhindered by the atmosphere?

11.Is time in space different than time here on Earth (days and nights)?

12.How many days does it take to make it to space from earth?

13.What is it like in space and can I go with you guys?

14.Why is Pluto not considered a planet?

15.How high can you fly in the sky?

16.How is your reception?

17.How do you sleep without floating away?

18.What happens when you run out of food?

19.How long does it take to get to Mars?

20.How big is the rocket in person?

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. The primary goal of ARISSis to 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 www.ariss.org.

MediaContact:

DaveJordan, AA4KN

ARISSPR

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