An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Essex Heights Primary School, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

on 17 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:24 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 NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact should be audible over portions of Australia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Essex Heights Primary School is situated in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne within the municipal boundaries of the City of Monash (approx. 183,000 residents) approximately 20km from Melbourne CBD. Essex Heights is one of 27 primary schools and 9 secondary schools in the City of Monash. Essex Heights is a Prep to Year 6 School of 576 students. The school has a strong partnership with Deakin University and is part of a number of educational research projects. Essex Heights has a rich cultural mix and also caters for a number of students funded under the Program for Students with Disability (4%). About 60% of the parent population were born outside of Australia, with China (18%), Malaysia (6.3%) and India (6.1%) being the predominant countries of birth.

Through the 'School Values' of friendliness, honesty, inclusiveness, persistence and respect, children develop positive attitudes and acquire skills that equip them for their future. All children are valued within a supportive and stimulating school environment where each child is encouraged to reach his / her potential. The whole community encourages high expectations and promotes innovative and contemporary curriculum, differentiated to cater for the needs of all children. The school engenders a culture of connectedness and creativity and whilst focussed on developing literacy in a variety of ways as well as positive relationships, students are actively involved in learning programs covering a wide range of domains.

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

1. Why did you want to be an astronaut?2. How long and what training did you do to be selected as an astronaut?3. Does your body react differently in space?4. What different jobs do you do as work on the Space Station?5. What happens if you fall seriously ill on the Space Station?6. What emergency back up plans are there if something very serious happens to the Space Station?7. What was the most difficult part of astronaut training?8. Why is it important to conduct experiments in space?9. Sometimes animals like insects and spiders are taken into space. Have any been hatched in space and does zero gravity affect them?10. What do you do on a typical day?11. Why does food taste differently on the Space Station and do you eat your meals together?12. Does space junk cause a potential problem for the Space Station?13. How many spacewalks have you and the crew done and was it scary?14. What is your favourite food to eat on the Space Station and what food are you missing the most?15. What differences have you noticed in your body while you have been in space and how will you get used to gravity when you return to earth?16. Have any of the past scientific experiments on the Space Station had a real world impact on Earth?17. Why don't you run out of oxygen on the International Space Station?18. How long does it take to get used to zero gravity?19. What plans are there for the future expansion of the International Space Station?20. What types of experiments are you currently running and how does zero gravity affect them?21. Why can the International Space Station stay in orbit around the Earth, without falling?22. How do you communicate with astronauts on the Space Station that come from other countries?23. Is exercising harder in space and do you do any special exercise to help you stay fit?24. What is the most amazing sight you have seen when you looked through your window?

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).

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Next planned event(s):

1. 7th International Aerospace School. I.N. Sultanova Rep.

Bashkortostan, Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS

The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Artemyev

Contact is a go for 2018-07-20 20:15 UTC

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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