An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Pinson Valley HS, Pinson, AL on Apr. 10. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:02 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and KN4BBD. The contact should be audible over the state of Alabama and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Pinson Valley High School is located in Central Alabama near the city of Birmingham and is one of 57 schools in the Jefferson County School system. We are a very diverse school with approximately 1100 students in grades 9-12. At PVHS students have many options for academic programs and extracurricular involvement. We have opportunities for students to take Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment classes, a growing career technical education academy, and a very popular fine arts academy. We hope that our participation in the ARISS contact will build an increased interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) course pathways. There are many sport teams for both male and female athletes. On December 8, 2017 our football team won the Alabama 6A State Championship, a first for our school. Our motto is "At Pinson Valley High School we promote achievement, respect, and success." Go Indians!

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

1. By having zero gravity, what type of exercises you have to do to keep your

body from losing mass?

2. What prompted your interest or love of space?

3. Psychologically, what is the most challenging aspect of being in space?

4. What type of research are you currently conducting on the ISS?

5. When you receive food supplies in space can you make special request for

certain foods?

6. What can a high school student do now to prepare for a potential career in

aerospace?

7. How much education and training does an astronaut typically have?

8. Theoretically could NASA power future rockets/spaceships via nuclear

fusion, similar to the sun?

9. What is the scariest part of space travel; the launch, living on the ISS,

or re-entry?

10. What happens if someone was to have a heart attack, get sick, or have

another medical emergency in space?

11. What is a typical day aboard the ISS like?

12. Since the ISS hosts astronauts from different countries, what language is

spoken aboard the ISS?

13. Besides your family, what do you miss most about life on earth?

14. What fuels the ISS?

15. What kind of medical testing does an astronaut have to go through to be

physically and mentally ready for duty?

16. Can you easily communicate with your family members while you are aboard

the ISS?

17. What are some hazards in space?

18. Have any organisms been born or conceived in space?

19. What happens if a fire occurs on the ISS?

20. Since you cannot really take a good shower in space, is the ISS smelly?

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):

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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