An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Sacred Heart School of Halifax, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 26 Sept. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 16:07 UTC.

The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and LU8YY. The contact should be audible over Argentina and portions of South America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

The Sacred Hearts School of Halifax is buzzing with activity in preparation for our upcoming ARISS contact. As part of the question selection process it was decided that before school recessed for the summer students who wished to participate in the ARISS contact were asked to provide at least two questions and to create posters that depicted each of those questions. With the contact just weeks away we've hung all the posters throughout the school for all to enjoy.

In the weeks leading up to the contact classroom activities will be, as much as possible, focused on a space theme. Invitations have been extended to a number of Federal, Provincial and Municipal Government officials as well as parents and a host of media. A special guest speaker, science writer and broadcaster Richard Zurawski has also been invited to provide a pre-contact presentation.

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

1. I understand that bones start to lose calcium at an accelerated rate in

space and because of that you do testing for osteoporosis. Are there

any other diseases or conditions that you test for while on the Space

Station?

2. What is the hardest transition when you leave Earth and go to space?

3. How do you prepare yourself for nausea caused by the lack of gravity in

space?

4. What types of new technologies are used on the Space Station?

5. How does the Space Station protect you from radiation?

6. What effects do space storms have on the Space Station?

7. How often are parts replaced on the I.S.S.?

8. What is you favourite thing to do while you're in orbit.

9. What do you do for entertainment while you're in orbit?

10. What type of research do you do on the I.S.S.?

11. What are the medical side effects of living in space?

12. Are you proud to be an astronaut?

13. What kinds of research do you do on the I.S.S. that might improve

people's health back on Earth?

14. How do your eating and sleeping patterns change when you're in space?

15. Do you believe that it will be possible to send humans to Mars in the

future?

16. How does your body adjust after returning to Earth from space?

17. How do you exercise in space?

18. What happens if you get hurt while on the I.S.S.?

19. How do you hydrate your food on the Space Station?

20: How does the air on the Space Station differ from that on Earth?

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

Next planned event(s):

1. Izmir SEV Primary School, Turkey, telebridge via K6DUE

Fri, 05Oct12 08:32 UTC

2. S.K Taman Tun Dr. Ismail 1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, direct via 9M2RPN

Sun 07Oct12 11:04 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