An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Pell Elementary School, Newport, RI on 02 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:45 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and ON4ISS. The contact should be audible over eastern portions of Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Watch for a live simulacast at: http://bit.ly/RIspacechat3 OR https://livestream.com/accounts/9685187/ISS2018 .

Pell Elementary School is Newport, Rhode Island's only grades K-4 school, with student population of 950. The school's namesake, Claiborne de Borda Pell served six terms as a U.S. senator from 1961 to 1997. Senator Pell championed the "Basic Educational Opportunity Grant," popularly known as the "Pell Grant." Millions of low-income students have attained post-secondary education through the benefit of this federal grant program. Pell believed education should be the right of every citizen, to better their own life, and to strengthen our nation.

Pell Elementary has a diverse, multicultural population due in part to the nearby U.S. Naval War College which attracts many foreign naval officers and their families. Our English language learner population is 12%, while 57% of our students are children of color, and 65% qualify for free (or reduced price) lunch.

Teachers at Pell School regularly incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) exploration into their classroom. Students attend weekly STEM classes during which they tackle real-world challenges. They are introduced to the "Engineering Design Process," coding, and careers in STEM fields. Kindergarten and first grade students explore computational thinking using a variety of on and off-line algorithmic tools. Older students are introduced to coding using MIT Media Lab's Scratch and Code.org.

Our faculty encourages students to take risks, solve problems, engage in experiential learning, and collaborate. Pell students have engaged in space-related and radio activities ahead of this event which also coincides with "World Space Week, " a United Nations-sponsored annual initiative geared to strengthen the link between space and society.

The space chat will be the highlight of the week, with activities planned, in the following week, to celebrate this year's theme, "Space Unites the World." With help from the Amateur Radio aboard the ISS (ARISS) volunteers around the world and our community partners, Pell students will witness "Rhode Island Space Chat #3." Four hundred students and guests are expected inside the school gymnasium with many others watching via livestream.

We are excited and honored to participate in this unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

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

1. What time do you wake up and what is the first thing you do?

2. My dad likes to drink coffee; do you have good tasting coffee on the ISS?

3. Does someone make you shower every day?

4. How do you celebrate your birthdays?

5. Do you ever get presents delivered to you from Earth?

6. What kinds of games do you play with your crew?

7. Why aren't there more girl astronauts?

8. What timezone do you follow?

9. Do you wash your clothes in space?

10. Where does the ISS trash go?

11. How do you keep the ISS clean and healthy?

12. Do you have to wash down the outside of the ISS and its solar panels, like a car gets washed?

13. Do you have a secret room that gives you privacy?

14. Why are spacesuits always white?

15. How many astronauts can go on a spacewalk at once?

16. How do you prepare for a spacewalk?

17. We grow tomatoes at school. Do you grow plants using hydroponics?

18. I'm Russian; do you think there are other life forms in the cosmos?

19. How do you eat without choking when there's no gravity to hold down the food?

20. How would you feel if you didn't exercise and then returned to Earth?

21. Who inspired you to be an astronaut?

22. What did you study in college?

23. Do space plants grow much faster when using plant food?

24. How do you handle a serious medical emergency?

25. As principal, I am the director of learning at school. Who is the leader on the ISS?

26. Are there any musical instruments on the ISS?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS).

To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status

Next planned event(s):

Amur University, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS

The scheduled astronaut is Sergei Propopev

Contact is a go for Wed 2018-10-10 08:00 UTC

Kursk University, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS

The scheduled astronaut is Sergei Propopev

Contact is a go for Fri 2018-10-12 10:40 UTC

If you are interested in applying for an ARISS contact, please go to http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html

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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