An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Mount Carmel Academy, Houston, TX on 10 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:29 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and ON4ISS. The contact should be audible over portions of Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Mt. Carmel Academy is a contract-charter school in southeast Houston within the Houston Independent School District. Incorporated in May 2008 after the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston announced the closing of Mt. Carmel High School, Mt. Carmel Academy is a "School of Choice" enjoying local autonomy, including curriculum flexibility, hiring of its own faculty and staff, setting its own standards of conduct and student activities, and setting admissions requirements for attending the school. MCA is accountable to the Houston Independent School District's standards in the area of academic performance, standards, and accreditation. The school is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of MCA parents, area business/community leaders, and MCHS alumni and has a current enrollment of 300 students.

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

1. What led you to want to be an astronaut and when did you decide that you

wanted to be an astronaut?

2. What type of student were you in high school and what was your favorite

subject?

3. What was your major in college?

4. Are all the people sent on missions trained together and for how long?

5. What is the most irritating thing about being weightless in space?

6. What affect does being on the space station have on your health (vision,

muscles, digestion, and mental state)?

7. What is the most awesome experience you've had in space?

8. How dangerous is it to be in space?

9. How much training and preparation is required for these mission trips.

I'm thinking about schooling, physical and psychological training,

and family preparation.

10. How does this mission benefit society?

11. Do people age at the same rate in zero gravity as on earth?

12. How long is your mission and is it a continuation of a previous mission?

13. What are the plans for mission trips in the near future?

14. What advice would you give to a student wanting to be an astronaut?

15. What are the steps to becoming an astronaut?

16. What was the most surprising effect that zero gravity had in your

experience?

17. What do you do for personal hygiene in space as far as going to the

restroom, brushing your teeth, and showering?

18. What do you do for entertainment on the space station?

*****

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