An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Space Jam 6 at the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum, Rantoul, IL on 5 Aug. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:06 UTC.

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

The contact will be direct between NA1SS and WB9SA. The contact should be audible over the central U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

Space Jam 6 is a Boy Scout and Girl Scout weekend event that helps to prepare youth for an increasingly technology oriented future. While we still teach our core pioneering skills, today's pioneers are involved in the space program. If the young people today want to be ready for this future they need the STEM skills that we focus on. Space Exploration, Robotics, Electronics, Radio, Engineering and Aviation are just a few of the 38 merit badges we are offering. Our theme this year is the History of Aviation and with the help of the Young Eagles program we are able to offer actual airplane rides to Scouts. Our event is located at the Rantoul, Illinois Airport, formally the Chanute Air Base, where some Tuskegee airman began their training and we will have a couple representatives give a keynote speech to the Scouts. Next year, our theme will be the Future of Space Exploration.

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

1. How old were you when you decided to become an astronaut?

2. How important is it to be fit in space?

3. What advice would you give to young women what want to be astronauts?

4. Do you like flying helicopters, airplanes or spaceships best?

5. Can you see your home from space?

6. Can you swim in the air in the space station?

7. What is the most important change in the space station?

8. Is it true that it will take over a year to go to Mars and back?

9. What vegetables can you grow in space on your way to Mars?

10. Do you think we should artificially isolate a test crew for a year?

11. During a heavily automated flight to Mars, how would you personally fight

boredom?

12. Will the crew on a Mars mission have both men and women?

13. Could the landing capsule on Mars transform into a self contained rover

with wheels?

14. How will spacesuits be different on Mars and have you tried on the Mark 3

spacesuit?

15. Is it true that dust devils on Mars create huge static electrical

charges?

16. Will we find water on Mars and where?

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

Next planned event(s):

1. Canada Science and Technology Museum Summer Day Camps, Ottawa, ON,

Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD

Thu 9 Aug 2012, 18:39 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