An International Space Station Expedition 18 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Wairarapa Home School Association, Carterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand on 26 November. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 0227 UTC.
The contact will be a telebridge contact between stations NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact should be audible over eastern Australia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.
Wairarapa Home School Association is a support group for many of the Home Schoolers in the Wairarapa province located about 90 Kms north east on Highway 2 from the Capital City, Wellington. We are a rural community consisting of dairying, cattle, sheep, timber, cropping and some fruit growing industries. The Wairarapa in Maori means "sea of sparkling waters" from Lake Wairarapa, a fresh water lake in the province. Our organisation provides a point of communication for events and resources that are in the Wairarapa, and for parents to plan events that will provide for educational and social activities for our families.
Some families live in remote areas in the farming community and others live in the 8 country towns, Masterton is the main town in the province The children who will be asking the questions are schooled by their parent from a Correspondence curriculum, the ages of the children range from 5 to 14 years, many come from big families, where English is their first language.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1) What made you want to be an astronaut? 2) How long do you go into space for, and what are you doing up there? 3) Have you gone outside the space station yet? 4) What can you see out the window? 5) What does the Milky Way and other planets look like from the space station? 6) Have you ever seen a shooting star, and what did it look like from the space station? 7) How do you exercise in space? 8) Is the cabin pressurised so you can eat food like we do on earth, or do you float around like they do on movies and have to drink pureed food? 9) What happens if there is a fire on the space station? 10) How do you handle it when two of you have an argument on he space station? 11) What is the operating system for your computers on board the space station? 12) Do you enjoy take-offs and landings, and what are they like? 13) How do you do your washing in space? 14) How often do you have contact with your family on earth? 15) How long are your work shifts, and what do you do during your free time on the space station other than sleep?
Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact .
Next planned event(s): St Anthony's College, Shillong, India, Mon 2008-12-01 08:04 UTC 32 deg via WH6PN
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, Kenneth - N5VHO