*

No. 24-87*

*Dave Jordan, AA4KN *

*ARISS PR*

*dave.jordan@ariss-usa.org dave.jordan@ariss-usa.org*

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at *

*Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa im. Walentego Stefańskiego w Bodzechowie, Bodzechów, Poland*

December 4, 2024—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa im. Walentego Stefańskiego w Bodzechowie, Bodzechów, Poland located in Bodzechów, Poland. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

This is a small public primary school in Bodzechów in the Świętokrzyskie Province. It serves about 200 students who have been preparing for this ARISS contact by expanding their knowledge in the fields of astronautics and science, covering topics in physics, chemistry and mathematics. Students have also been motivated to learn English through numerous presentations, trips to participating institutions and organizations and thematic competitions. Students took part in workshops at the Copernicus Science Centre in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, including one called SOWA. SOWA, which means 'owl' in Polish, is an acronym for the Discovery and Activity Zone, where students developed their creativity and gained knowledge through interactive experiences. They also visited the "Cosmopark" in the Czarnowska Gallery in Kielce - a unique space exhibition, including spacesuits, flight simulators, space plasma and a planetarium. During World Space Week at school, they took part in competitions, such as creating spaceship models and a Space fashion show. An additional attraction for the younger classes was the mobile planetarium "ORBITEK", where they learned about the history of space exploration and Earth's place in the Universe through special projections. Amateur radio activities at the school are supported by members of the Ostrowiecki Amateur Radio Club PZK (SP7POS) who have conducted workshops for students and teachers, presenting various aspects of amateur radio, including communication techniques with the space station.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Sunita Williams, amateur radio call sign KD5PLB. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Bodzechów, Poland. Amateur radio operators using call sign SP7POS, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for December 6, 2024 at 12:49:23 pm CET (Poland) (11:49:23 UTC, 6:49 am EST, 5:49 am CST, 4:49 am MST, 3:49 am PST).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://youtube.com/live/1Ch_r219Tvk

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As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Do you think time passes faster or slower in space?

2. How much electricity does the ISS use each day?

3. Is the spacesuit comfortable?

4. What do you eat in space?

5. Which planet do you think is the most beautiful, apart from the Earth?

6. What do Saturn's rings look like up close?

7. What is life like for NASA astronauts who are staying on the ISS longer than planned?

8. Do you miss your family and friends?

9. Have you always wanted to be an astronaut?

10. What do astronauts do on the ISS?

11. What was your favourite subject in primary school?

12. Do you think humans will one day be able to land on Mars?

13. If you get sick in space, how do you deal with illness?

14. What is your favourite way to spend your free time on the ISS?

15. What is the most challenging part of being an astronaut?

16. What do you think about when you look at the Earth?

*About ARISS:*

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

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

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