An International Space Station Expedition 18 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Stephen F. Austin Elementary School, Richmond, Texas USA on 09 December. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 1545 UTC.
The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and NT5SM. The contact should be audible over central and eastern North America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.
The students at Stephen F. Austin Elementary School in Richmond, Texas have studied space and the identifying characteristics of objects in our solar system, including the soon, planets and moon.
Each year the fifth grade students participate in a simulated space shuttle mission, performing tasks that would happen on a regular shuttle flight. Each grade level is involved in some manner with the various missions that occur throughout the day. The school has integrated the ARISS contact as part of this activity.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. How would you be rescued if you floated off during a spacewalk? 2. What does a hurricane look like from the Space Station? 3. Do you burn calories the same way in space as on Earth? 4. Have you ever seen the Aurora Borealis from space? 5. Has an asteroid ever hit the space station? 6. Is sleeping on the space station difficult because you are weightless? 7. Do you tell the time the same way in space as on Earth? 8. What is the most life-changing experiment you have done? 9. Have you seen any unusual objects floating around in space? 10. How do you train for zero gravity? 11. Do you miss going outside and getting fresh air? 12. Do you ever vomit because your food is floating around in your stomach? 13. How do you stop your muscles from getting weak in zero gravity? 14. Do you think people will ever live on another planet? 15. What does it feel like at the exact moment you enter zero gravity? 16. How do you feel about the new urine-to-drinking water system? 17. Does a cut bleed or heal differently when there is no gravity? 18. How dos the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle work on the space station? 19. How often do you get to talk with your family? 20. How difficult is it to change clothing when you are weightless?
Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact .
Next planned event(s): 1) Istituto Comprensivo "Marco Polo", Grado I-34073, Italy, Wed 2008-12-10 10:11 UTC 2) 2 Circolo Didattico, San Giuseppe, Mola di Bari, Italy, Fri 2008-12-12 14:18 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, Kenneth - N5VHO