*ARISS News Release No. 24-76*

*Dave Jordan, AA4KN *

*ARISS PR*

*aa4kn@amsat.org aa4kn@amsat.org*

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at *

*Bandello Primary School, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Italy*

November 5, 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 Bandello Primary School located in Castelnuovo Scrivia, Italy. 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.

Bandello Primary School is located in Castelnuovo Scrivia, a town in the countryside located in the North of Italy. It is a small primary school, with 11 classes, a gym and a computer lab. Students have been studying the science of space since last year.

This will be a telebridge 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 telebridge station.

The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Meadow Spring, Australia. The amateur radio volunteer team at the ground station will use the call sign VK6MJ, to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for November 7, 2024 at 8:56 am CEST (Italy) 7:56 UTC, 2:56 am EST, 1:56 am CST, 12:56 am MST, 11:56 pm PST).

*_______________________________*

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Do you dream while sleeping in space?

2. Can you get sick in space?

3. Which food do you miss the most on the ISS?

4. Did you always know you wanted to be an astronaut?

5. Do you think other intelligent life forms exist in the Universe?

6. How do you handle any conflicts between crew members with different cultural backgrounds?

7. How long does it take to wear the EVA suit?

8. What do you feel observing the Earth from the ISS?

9. What's the strangest thing you've seen in space?

10. How do you perceive time passing on the space station?

11. Are you more eager to go to space or to return home?

12. What sensations do you feel during the first days in space?

13. Wouldn't you like to float freely away from ISS while on EVA?

14. Is it difficult to get used again to gravity when back on Earth?

15. How a carpenter's bubble level behaves in space?

16. Do you see stars twinkling or not, since you're out of the atmosphere?

17. What’s your favorite city to look at from space?

18. Is there a typical smell on the ISS?

19. What is your favourite experiment on the ISS?

20. Can you see other planets from the ISS?

*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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