*ARISS News Release No.24-64*

*Dave Jordan, AA4KN *

*ARISS PR*

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

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at *

*Istituto Comprensivo “Elena Lucrezua Corner”, Fossò, Italy*

October 15, 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 Istituto Comprensivo “Elena Lucrezua Corner” located in Fossò, 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.

Istituto Comprensivo “Elena Lucrezua Corner”, will engage secondary and primary level students (ages 6 to 14) during this ARISS contact. Students have been preparing by watching videos about life on the ISS, participating in the Mission AstroPi Zero challenges, and tracking the ISS in the nighttime sky. Amateur radio operators are supporting students with their studies in radio communications, SSTV, and ISS TV.

This will be a direct 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 relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Fossò, Italy. Amateur radio operators using call sign IQ3RW, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 18, 2024 at 11:09 am CEST (Fossò, Italy) (9:09 UTC, 5:09 am EDT, 4:09 am CDT, 3:09 am MDT, 2:09 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRrMf-fP3p0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRrMf-fP3p0*

*_______________________________*

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Which sensations do you feel in the ISS?

2. How long was your longest journey in space?

3. What kind of sounds/noises are there in space?

4. How do you preserve muscle strength and bone mass on the ISS?

5. What happens if, during a spacewalk, an astronaut accidentally loses the grip?

6. What happens if a crew member gets sick? How do you heal him?

7. Which school did you attend to become an astronaut?

8. How many degrees are there in space?

9. What's your typical daily routine?

10. How do you distinguish which part of the day it is, since in space its dark all around?

11. Do you miss family and friends while on the ISS?

12. What was the most fascinating discovery you did on the ISS?

13. How do you manage your daily activities in space like washing yourself, toilet and eating?

14. What was the strangest experiment that you have done?

15. Why haven't we gone back again to the Moon since 1972?

16. How do you prevent floating around while working on the ISS?

17. How many times have you been in space so far?

18. Did you discover any life forms in space?

19. Can animals be brought on the ISS?

20. How do you divide tasks on 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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