An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Liceo Scientifico "A. Bafile", L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy on 12 June. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 06:52 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 52 seconds.

The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and IZ6BAJ. The contact should be audible over Italy. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

On April 6, 2009, L'Aquila, Italy and the surrounding area was rocked by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. Needless to say, the area suffered much damage with a reported 300 people killed and 70,000 left homeless. As a result, the Liceo Scientifico "A. Bafile" school along with other secondary schools is currently operating under a tent provided by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR) and the Civil Defense (DPC). Teachers are redesigning their educational proposals in order to keep the attention of students that are still shocked by the quake. They believe that an ARISS School Contact can surely give them a wider look on their future. All local and national TV and newspaper media, continuously present in L'Aquila after the earthquake, will be invited.

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

1. How were you informed about the devastating earthquake that struck our city? 2. I have read about "LAZIO-EAGLE" and "VSPLESK" experiments on ISS. Are they related to earthquake forecasting? Are they still on? 3. Can we send you any photos about what we are experiencing in L'Aquila? 4. Have you ever been in Italy? And in Abruzzo region? 5. Do you have the opportunity to communicate with your family or your friends? 6. What are the most important experiments you are now performing on ISS? 7. Are there now experiments conceived by Italian schools? 8. Can you hear the sound of a thunderstorm from there? 9. When you were a child, did you ever dream to go to the space? 10. How do you cope in space with the needs of daily life such as drinking, eating, sleeping, having a shower? 11. Which is the maximum number of astronauts that can live on ISS for a long period? 12. Why the name OASISS for your mission? 13. Could you say something about OASISS support of the UNICEF? 14. When did you decide to become an astronaut? 15. Which is the youngest astronaut that ever was onboard ISS? 16. How do you prepare yourself to live in space? 17. Can you drink a "caffè espresso" on ISS? 18. Can you produce a soap-bubble inside ISS? 19. What would you say to encourage young people to become astronauts? 20. Would you like to explore the Moon?

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

Next planned event(s):

1. Vrije Basisschool, Terbank-Egenhoven, Heverlee, Belgium Fri 12June09 11:38 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