An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Liberty Middle School, Camas, Washington on 15 Sep. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 20:26 UTC.
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and ON4ISS. The contact should be audible over portions of western Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.
Nestled along the beautiful Columbia River with Mt. Hood towering in the distance, Camas is one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. Camas retains the charm of a small town but is just 25 minutes away from downtown Portland, Oregon. Once only a paper mill town, many large corporations now make their home in Camas, including WaferTech, Underwriters Laboratory and Sharp Microelectronics.
Our district has two high schools, two middle schools, and five elementary schools. Liberty Middle School is home to more than 600 sixth, seventh and eighth grade "Lions." Opened in 2006, we are committed to building a strong academic community. Our mission statement, designed by both students and staff is: A thriving community united to grow. Possibilities!
Liberty is the current home to the Camas Space Education Program, launched more than twenty years ago. All sixth grade students train for six weeks, including a SCUBA experience, to become "astronauts". The climax of the program is a ten hour mission on board Alpha-Z, our school space station. We are proud to say that more than 3,000 sixth graders completed this simulation!
Participants will ask as many of the following questions (translated) as time allows:
1. What is the goal of your space mission? 2. How much was your training like the real trip? 3. How much food do you have to bring to space? What do you do if it runs
out? 4. What three words best describe the packaged food you eat in space? 5. When you were a sixth grader in Camas did you want to be an astronaut or
did you figure that out later in life? 6. Which life experiences best prepared you for spending six months in
space? 7. How did the Camas School District affect you in your success? 8. Does being in space effect your health at all? 9. Is it true that in space you actually recycle your urine and drink it? If
so, is it better for you than regular water? 10. In your opinion, what is the hardest thing to do without gravity? 11. What do you miss most from Earth? 12. If someone told you you could live on Mars but you couldn't come back
would you do it? 13. Was training underwater really like your spacewalk? 14. What was your favorite part of training to be an astronaut? 15. What is the most beautiful thing you have seen in space? 16. What are you planning to do when you get back to Earth? 17. Is the ISS big or crowded where you stay? 18. Could animals be put into space? What would be the effects of zero
gravity on the animals? 19. How did it feel when you launched? 20. How does it feel being without your family? 21. Is it difficult to work with people from other countries? 22. As a kid in middle school what did you like most about school and did you
do well? 23. What do you enjoy most about being in space? 24. Is taste and smell different in space than on Earth?
Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact.
Next planned event(s):
1. Euro Space Center, Transinne, Belgium
Wed, 16 Sep 09 12:52 UTC
2. Delta Researchers Schools, Dutch Ministry of Education from Space
Expo, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Fri, 18 Sep 09 15:55 UTC
3. Vrij Technisch Instituut Sint-Lucas, Oudenaarde,
Oost - Vlaanderen, Belgium
Tue, 22 Sep 09 13:47 UTC
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).
Thank you & 73,
David - AA4KN