An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at 3rd Junior High School, Komotini, Greece on 10 Mar. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:20 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and SV7APQ. The contact should be audible over Greece and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.800 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

The 3rd Junior High School of Komotini is one of the 13 schools of Secondary Education that operate in Komotini, a city in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in the north-east of Greece. Our school is one of the oldest in the Municipality of Rodopi. The current building was constructed in 1992. Its a relatively new building with 16 classrooms, and laboratories for Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Music rooms, multiple-function rooms and a fully-equipped library. There are approximately 350 registered students (age 12-15), and 38 teachers of different fields in our school. One of the main characteristics of our school is its multi-cultural character. 25% percent of our students come from repatriated Greek families who lived for about a century in countries of the Former Soviet Union (Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, etc) and came back to Greece in 1990 after the collapse of the regime in the countries of Eastern Europe. These students speak both the Greek and the Russian language fluently. 16% percent of our students are Muslims. The existence of a Greek Muslim minority in Thrace has been recognized internationally since 1922. Among them, there is a significant number of Pomaks and Roma students. There are integration classes for students with special educational needs and learning disabilities taught by teachers of Special Education. Additionally, every year many national educational programmes, such as Environmental Education, Health Education, Consumer Education and many Cultural programmes (music, dance, theatre, art, radio, astronomy) are implemented. Our school also has a very active cycling club. Students go on various educational trips every year, visiting other parts of Greece and expanding their learning skills and abilities.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. What is the most challenging problem of living in space?

2. Can you see the moon closer from Earth, is it different?

3. How do you stabilize the food on the table?

4. How often do you do extravehicular activity?

5. Is it very difficult to become an astronaut?

6. Do you have sufficient oxygen in ISS?

7. If you had just one wish to become true for your job what would it be?

8. If a member of the crew is injured can you give him first aid?

9. When you come back to earth, is it easy for you to walk?

10. Which is the difference between day and night in Earth and in Moon?

11. What is the main target of your expedition?

12. Can you see meteor showers from space?

13. Have you ever seen a comet from space?

14. How long did the preparation for this expedition last?

15. How many hours do you work, do you have shifts?

16. What is the most extreme procedure of your expedition?

17. What is your favorite food in space?

18. How old were you when you decided to become an astronaut and what was the

motive of your decision?

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Next planned event(s):

TBD

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 International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org.

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN

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