ARISS News Release                                                                                                No.   20-25

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

aa4kn@amsat.org

FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISSContact Scheduled for

Students at Athlone CommunityCollege, Athlone, Ireland

December4, 2020—Amateur Radio 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 direct contact via amateur radio between students at the AthloneCommunity College, Athlone, Ireland and astronaut Shannon Walker, amateur radiocall sign KD5DXB. Amateur radio station EI1ISS will be the ground station forthis contact. About800 people will be onsite for the event. Students will take turns asking Walker questions and Englishis the language expected to be used during the contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is145.800 MHz.

The ARISS radio contact isscheduled for December 7, 2020 at 2:50 pm GMT (Athlone), (14:50 UTC, 9:50 am EST,8:50 am CST, 7:50 am MST and 6:50 am PST).

The public is invited to watch the livestream at: https://youtu.be/viVQBI4WzKs

AthloneCommunity College has 1,200 students, ages 12 to 18, from a diverse range ofbackgrounds, and from both rural and urban areas. Mathematics, science and engineeringsubjects occupy a special place in the school curriculum for both the junior and senior levels, and studentshave enjoyed studying the ISS and space. In preparation for the ARISS contact,teachers have conducted lessons that involve science and physics studies.

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Astime allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Did you enjoy the launch into space? 2. Tell us somethingabout current experiments on the ISS?

3. What is yourfavourite area in the ISS?

4. What activities doyou do in your spare time?

5. What is the mostinteresting thing you have seen on Earth from the space station?

6. What evidence ofclimate change can you see from space?

7. How many years oftraining does it take to become an astronaut?

8. Where does the ISSget its energy from?

9. What happens ifyou are in a space suit and your nose becomes really itchy?

10. When you returnhome what will you miss most about the ISS?

11. What was the mostdifficult challenge you had to overcome during training?

12. When you firstsaw the earth from space what was your reaction?

13. Has somethinguseful on earth come from space experiments?

14. Are your musclesweak when you return from micro gravity?

15. If there was amanned mission to Mars would you consider going?

16. Will it ever befeasible to travel to another solar system?

17. How do you keepfit with the low gravity in space?

18. Does your senseof taste and smell change in space?

19. While on the ISSare you able to communicate with family?

20. When did youdecide you wanted to become an astronaut - from a young age or did yourinterest develop at a later age?

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ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio 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, sponsorsare the 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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