An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at King's High School, Warwick, UK on 19 Apr. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:05 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and GB4KHS. The contact should be audible over the United Kingdom 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.

The Mars story of the school

The Mars project, envisioned by a student after watching Tim Peake's 2016 mission, is our chance to inspire more girls while in their formative years, to consider studying science at A level and beyond.

Since 1879 King's High Warwick has been championing girls in science and STEM subjects as one of the leading all-girls schools in the Midlands. The importance of girls' education back then was viewed as inferior to that of boys and the early headmistresses of King's set about trying to change that. Over a hundred years on girls and boy's education is viewed as equal, however the number of girls in science and STEM subjects is still not equal to our male counterparts; through school and into the workplace. Just 35% of girls choose maths, physics and computing compared to 94% of boys

The Project One campus is the latest opportunity for King's girls, consisting of brand new school buildings on the Warwick School site. It will feature state of the art science labs, enabling future generations of girls to study with the best facilities possible. The future King's girls at the Prep and local schools will use these labs for their time at King's and we believe the Mars Project will inspire them to see what studying STEM can lead to, helped by access to high quality equipment. The project will assist in creating a collaborative relationship between the wide variety of subjects that have previously had minimal cross over in their syllabuses. The focus on Mars and astronomy links directly to the A Level Physics syllabus, inspiring more girls to study physics beyond GCSE. The supra-curricula activities conducted as a part of the project, such as building rovers in DT widen the educational experience of girls and enable them to see the real-life applications of their learning.

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

1. When we colonize Mars, what is the most important thing we need to learn

from our ancestors' mistakes on Earth?

2. What types of weather can you get on Mars that we would have to tackle if

humans were going to live there?

3. Considering the research into life support systems on the ISS and research

into in-situ resource utilization, how long after the first manned mission

to Mars do you think that a Mars colony can be self-sufficient?

4. Now that you are on the ISS would you have done anything differently

during training, physically or mentally?

5. Having experienced the vastness of space, do you believe there are other

forms of life in the universe?

6. How has your journey to space changed your perspective on human life?

7. What aspect of space travel do you think needs to be improved in the next

10 years to get us further into space?

8. What is the most magnificent place on Earth from space?

9. How does not having daylight or seasons in space affect you compared to

being on Earth?

10. Is it true that the atmosphere changes your sense of taste up in space?

11. How does the feeling of weightlessness compare to the training underwater

on Earth?

12. How far into the future is the technology needed to make travelling

between solar systems the norm?

13. We all know space can be a dangerous environment. How do you and your

fellow astronauts protect yourselves whilst on the ISS?

14. What does your training on Earth entail to help you cope with the effects

of the lack of gravity on your sleep?

15. What part of nature do you miss most from Earth when you are in space?

16. How difficult is it for your body to adjust to life in space?

17. What?s the one thing that surprised you most when you first saw Earth

from space?

18. What?s your advice to young people dreaming of becoming involved in space

programs?

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):

1. Russian school TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS

The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Skvortsov

Contact is a go for Tue 2018-04-24 11:05 UTC

2. Russian school TBD

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS

The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Skvortsov

Contact is a go for 2018-04-25 08:35 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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