An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Scuola primaria De Gasperi, Noicattaro, Italy on 6 April. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:47 UTC.

The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and IZ7EVR. The contact should be audible over Italy and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Our school is a public primary school named after Alcide De Gasperi. It is attended by about 700 pupils, aged between 6 and 11 years. In addition to the compulsory activities, our school gives the opportunity to attend optional activities in the afternoon; these concern English language, music, sports, theatre, science, ecology, and other artistic and research activities. De Gasperi school would like to realize the contact with the ISS in occasion of the celebrations of the centenarian of the prize Nobel to Guglielmo Marconi. The contact site is located at “Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza“ of Bari, promoted by University of Bari. The “Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza” is a permanent structure whose main aim is to diffuse scientific culture and its related technologies.

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

1. Which experiments are you carrying out during your mission? 2. Is it always dark in Space or do you have the alternation of day and

night? 3. Do you see other planets from the ISS? 4. How does the coupling between the Soyuz and the ISS work? 5. Who is the pilot of the ISS? 6. Are your meals onboard the ISS similar to those on Earth? 7. Why do you wear the space suit outside the ISS? 8. Why is the ISS composed of many modules? 9. Where do you deposit your waste on the ISS? 10. At what time are the daily rest periods of the astronauts? 11. What does your daily working plan look like? 12. Is your cardiac rhythm in Space the same as on Earth? 13. How do you communicate with your relatives? 14. Why have you always to do physical training? 15. What is the actual size of the ISS? 16. What temperature is inside the ISS? 17. How do you produce the electric energy on the ISS? 18. Is it possible for a pet to live onboard the ISS? 19. Is it possible to use a mobile phone on the ISS? 20. How do you wash yourself? 21. Can the ISS avoid any impact with meteorites? 22. What are the steps to become an astronaut? 23. How long does the training before the mission to the ISS last?

Watch for audio and video live streaming at http://it.justin.tv/cittadella

Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact.

Next planned event(s):

TBD

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