An International Space Station / STS-118 ARISS school contact has been planned with children in the McCall-Donnelly School District in McCall, Idaho, USA on 16 Aug. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:14 UTC.
The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact should be audible in eastern Australia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. In addition, the audio should be available via IRLP and EchoLink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.
McCall-Donnelly School District consists of two high schools, one middle school, and two elementary schools for approximately 900 students. The school district's motto is "Educating Students for Life". Located in McCall, Idaho; the district is nestled in amongst the Payette National Forest. A former logging community, McCall located about 100 miles north of Boise and is now considered a year round resort destination with the nickname "Ski Town USA". Barbara Morgan taught in the district for years and was an active member of the community. The district science team works closely with the State Department of Education and the University of Idaho as members of Idaho Reaches Into Space (IRIS) to coordinate classroom activities and assemblies developed by NASA aerospace educators and aligned to Idaho achievement standards.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1) How many years did you train to become an astronaut? 2) How did your body feel during the launch? 3) What is your main duty on this mission? 4) What do you do in your free time? 5) Is it hard to eat in microgravity? 6) Is there anything that looks like it is moving on Earth? 7) How do you sleep in space? 8) How do you exercise on the space station? 9) What is the temperature outside the space station? 10) What protects the space station from asteroids? 11) If you had to choose one, would you be an astronaut or a teacher?
Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .
Next planned event(s): Nanjing No. 3 High School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P.R.China, direct via BY4RRR Sun 2007-08-26 10:44 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.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).
Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO