An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at High School "Léon Blum", Le Creusot, France on 16 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:53 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 K6DUE. The contact should be audible over the east coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Le Creusot is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by large metallurgical companies such as ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, and Alstom. In the 19th century, iron ore mines and forges around Le Creusot generated a business in steel, railways, armaments, and shipbuilding.

The lycée Léon Blum (Le Creusot-71) together with the lycée international Charles de Gaulle (Dijon-21) and lycée Pierre Paul Riquet (Saint-Orens-31) were selected after a call for projects in March 2015 by the CNES Youth Education department for the PROXIMA mission.

The project is named CERES (after the name of ancient roman goddess of agriculture) Thomas will grow some seeds in space as part of the CERES educational experiment. A special cargo of mustard, lentil and radish seeds was sent to him on the Space Station. He should water them and take pictures at regular intervals to study how the seeds grow in space.

Students of the two partner high schools and a local elementary school are also participating to the list of questions.

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

1. On imagine la vie dans l'espace très différente de celle sur Terre.

Malgré les liaisons radios, vous sentez-vous coupé de la réalité?

2. Qu’avez-vous ressenti pendant votre sortie extravéhiculaire? Avez-vous eu

peur du vide?

3. Constatez-vous quelques changements corporels? Par exemple la croissance

accélérée des poils, des cheveux ou des ongles,

ou à l'inverse une déshydratation de la peau, perte de cheveux, etc...?

4. Y aurait-il une différence de ressenti si la station elle-même n’était

plus en chute libre

mais en réelle apesanteur, éloignée de toute source de gravité?

5. Avez vous déjà réalisé notre expérience CERES sur la croissance des

plantules?

sinon quelles hypotheses ou conclusions pouvez vous déjà faire?

6. Serait-il possible d’entretenir des cultures ou développer un jardin dans

l’ISS

afin de subvenir à une partie des besoins nutritionnels des astronautes?

7. Pensez- vous qu'il soit possible de faire pousser dans l'espace des

végétaux

dont la plus grande partie est ici enfouie sous terre comme les carottes

par exemple? et des végétaux plus grands comme des arbustes?

8. Que pensez-vous de la participation et l'implication de lycéens à des

expériences menées dans l'espace?

9. Pensez-vous que des expériences comme CERES pourraient être réalisées sur

Mars

et permettre dans les années à venir d'éventuelles cultures sur cette

planète pour une future colonisation?

10. Le fait de rester plusieurs mois dans une même station avec cinq

coéquipiers ne crée-t-il pas parfois des conflits à cause du stress?

11. Sur Terre, l'homme est un géant de la découverte, de la technologie et

du progrès.

Mais, au milieu de l'univers, comment se sent-on?

12. Les particules dues aux pluies d'étoiles filantes ont-elles des

conséquences (même minimes)

sur l'ISS ou peut-être même sur vous, astronautes?

13. Quelles différences observez-vous entre les expériences réalisées sur

Terre et dans l'Espace?

14. Comment vous organisez vous dans l’ISS avec les autres astronautes?

Existe-t-il un roulement pour les différents services,

comme la préparation des repas, etc...

15. Pouvez-vous vous vêtir comme vous le souhaitez dans la station spatiale

internationale?

Avez-vous la possibilité de laver votre linge dans l’ISS?

16. Pensez-vous au retour sur Terre? Si oui, appréhendez-vous cet instant?

17. Les astronautes suivent-ils (ensembles) toutes les traditions et fêtes

de leur pays d'origine?

(par exemple Noël le 25 décembre pour les Européens et Américains et le

7 janvier pour les Russes)

18. J’ai toujours rêvé d’être astronaute. Quels conseils me donneriez-vous?

19. Allez-vous réaliser des expériences dans l'ISS dans le but d’installer

la vie sur Mars?

20. Pensez-vous que votre génération d'astronautes ira sur Mars? Espérez-

vous y aller vous-même?

Translated:

1. Life in space is thought to be very different from life on Earth. In

spite of radio connections, do you ever feel you are cut off from

reality?

2. How did you feel during your Extra-Vehicular-Activity? Did you fear the

void?

3. What sort of body changes can you notice on you? For instance, did you

notice any accelerated growth or loss phenomena concerning your hairs,

hair, nails or even any form of dehydration?

4. Would you feel different sensations if the Space Station was not

continuously falling around Earth, but really away from any source of

gravity?

5. Did you already start our CERES experiment about seed germination? What

difficulties did you meet? Otherwise what hypothesis could you make on

its potential results?

6. Would it be possible to grow crops or develop a garden on the ISS in

order to partially feed astronauts?

7. Do you think it’s realistic to grow vegetables in space, considering that

their major parts are buried in the soil here on earth, such as carrots

for instance? What about bigger size plants like trees?

8. How do you feel about the fact that high schoolers take part in and get

involved into space experiments?

9. Do you think that experiments like CERES could be made on Mars and enable

potential cultivation on that planet in the years to come to pave the way

for a future colonization?

10. You are living with five other astronauts in the same station for

several months: Could it be source of tension because of stress?

11. Here on Earth, human beings are witnessing major scientific discoveries

and huge technological progress. However, how do we feel in the middle

of the universe?

12. Do the particles triggered by meteor showers have some consequences –

even tiny ones – on the ISS or maybe even on you as an astronaut?

13. What differences can you make between experiments that are being

carried out on Earth and those in space?

14. How do you schedule activities with the other astronauts? Do you take

turns to work on different tasks, like preparing meals?

15. Can you dress as you want on the ISS? Can you wash your clothes there?

16. Do you have in mind the moment you will come back on Earth? If so, do

you feel concerned about that moment?

17. Do the astronauts share together all the traditions and celebrations of

their own countries? Christmas for instance, which is celebrated on

December 25th in Europe and America but on January 7th in Russia?

18. I have always dreamt of being an astronaut. Any helpful piece of advice?

19. Are you going to make experiments in the ISS in order to settle life on

Mars?

20. Do you think that your current generation of astronauts will go on Mars?

Is that your personal hope?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

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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