IMPORTANT UPDATE:

THIS ARISS PRESS RELEASE SUPERSEDES THE INITIAL ONE SENT ON 2-24-2017 AT 03:48 UTC

CORRECTION: THE DOWNLINK FREQUENCY WILL BE 437.525 MHZ INSTEAD OF 145.800 MHZ.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ecole primaire Elie Desplan, Boissières, France and Marie Castang, Saint Dionisy, France on 23 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:31 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F4HHV. The contact should be audible over France and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 437.525 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in French.

We are two small schools in pretty twin villages in the South of France, Boissières and Saint-Dionisy.

Enjoying very beautiful surroundings, we are located just 15 km from Nîmes and 40 km from Montpellier,

in the Occitanie region, on the threshold of the Camargue wetlands and the Cevennes mountain range.

Our villages are nestled at the foot of a hillside covered with evergreen oak trees, juniper bushes,

thyme, "capitelles" (dry-stone cabins) and with a well-preserved "oppidum" (iron-age settlement) at its summit.

From the top, one can marvel at the splendid view over the plain of Vaunage (stretching between Caveirac and Calvisson),

the Pic Saint Loup and the Mediterranean Sea on the horizon, and to the recognisable architecture of the Grande Motte (seaside town).

On a clear day, one can even discern the peaks of Mont Lozère, Mont Aigoual and Mont Ventoux.

Our two little schools, served by a single school-bus-run, work closely together within an inter-town educational grouping

("Regroupement Pédagogique Intercommunal") and maintain a privileged relationship with all of the children.

The Boissières school welcomes 61 pupils from infants ("maternelle") to first grade ("Cours Préparatoire") -

in three classes and the Saint-Dionisy school receives daily 73 children from second grade ("Cours Elémentaire 1re Année")

up to fifth grade ("Cours Moyen 2e Année") - also in three classes.

The pupils are delighted to work together on a common theme between the two schools.

They are charmed by this wonderful project of being able to communicate with Thomas Pesquet from space.

They have been carrying out lots of learning work and are making discoveries about astronomy, the International Space Station and communication.

We can be sure that many are already dreaming of becoming the next Thomas Pesquet!

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

1. Est-ce qu'il fait nuit dans l'espace?

2. Qu'est-ce qui a été le plus difficile dans ta préparation?

3. Est-ce que la Terre est belle vue de l'espace?

4. A quoi as-tu pensé juste avant le décollage?

5. Est-ce que tu manges bien?

6. Tu réalises ton rêve. alors à quoi rêves-tu là-haut?

7. Est-ce que c'est bien d'être dans l'espace?

8. Un des plus beaux cadeaux de notre enfance serait que tu viennes nous voir : penses-tu pouvoir réaliser notre rêve?

9. Qu'as-tu fait pendant le trajet jusqu'à la station spatiale?

10. Est-ce difficile de vivre en apesanteur?

11. Est-ce qu'il pleut parfois?

12. Quelles émotions ressens-tu lorsque tu travailles à l'extérieur de l'ISS?

13. Avais-tu un sapin de Noël dans l'ISS?

14. Pourquoi fais-tu des expériences sur les végétaux dans l'ISS?

15. Y a-t-il des radiateurs dans l'ISS?

16. Est-ce qu'il y a de la vie dans l'espace?

17. Est-ce que tu peux manger glacé ou chaud?

18. Es-tu pressé de revenir sur Terre?

19. Comment es-tu habillé dans la station?

20. As-tu déjà vu passer une météorite par une fenêtre de l'ISS?

Translated:

1. Is it dark in space?

2. What was the hardest thing in your training?

3. Is the Earth beautiful from space?

4. What did you think just before liftoff?

5. Do you eat well?

6. You fulfilled your dream...so what do you dream about up there?

7. Is it good to be in space?

8. The greatest gift of our childhood would be to have you visit us: do you

think our dream might come true?

9. What did you do during the trip to the Space Station?

10. Is it difficult to live without gravity?

11. Does it rain sometimes?

12. What emotions do you feel when you work outside the ISS?

13. Did you have a Christmas tree in the ISS?

14. Why do you do experiments on plants in the ISS?

15. Are there heaters on the ISS?

16. Is there life out in space?

17. Can you eat cold or hot things?

18. Are you in a hurry to come back to Earth?

19. What do you wear in the station?

20. Have you already seen a meteorite from through the window of the ISS?

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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