An International Space Station Expedition 18 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants of International Education Week (Poolesville High School in Poolesville, MD, Academia Cotopaxi in Quito, Ecuador and Enloe Magnet High School in Raleigh, NC) on 14 November. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 1505 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge contact between stations NA1SS and WH6PN. The contact should be audible over Hawaii. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

The ninth annual International Education Week will be November 17-21, 2008 and is a joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of Education and State. This year's theme, International Education: Fostering Global Responsibility and Leadership, recognizes that to meet the challenges of our global world, all nations must work to develop future leaders who possess an open-minded, comprehensive worldview. International Education Week 2008 is a time to celebrate our efforts to prepare students for success in the global community and the promise of student exchange in training the next generation of leaders. All Americans are urged to learn more about the world beyond our borders, and encourage students to experience other cultures firsthand.

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

1) Cotopaxi: How is oxygen brought into the ISS? Do you need to bring fresh oxygen or can you recycle the air? 2) Enloe Magnet (in Russian): What kinds of equipment are you required to work with on a regular basis, and what kind of knowledge or specialties must you have? 3) Poolesville: How do you prepare yourself, both physically and mentally, for the challenges of living in space? 4) Cotopaxi: If a compass won't work in space, so there is no north-south-east-west, how can you indicate direction? 5) Enloe Magnet: How are scientists working to overcome the effects of radiation on a trip to Mars? Also, do you think that exposure to cosmic rays is a risk that you are comfortable taking? 6) Poolesville: What are the benefits of conducting experiments/studies in space? 7) Cotopaxi: We learned that in the ISS muscles atrophy and disuse of bones causes osteopenia. Will growing children ever be able to live in space and still grow? We especially wonder about the possibility of children in future colonies on the Moon or Mars. 8) Enloe Magnet: What are the differences between performing scientific experiments on earth as opposed to doing them on the space station? Also, what effects will these experiments have on our daily life here on earth? 9) Poolesville: What was the weirdest experiment ever performed on the space station? 10) Cotopaxi: We watched the ISS video on astronauts eating food and playing with floating spherical liquids. What would happen in a medical emergency on the ISS with spurting blood and other body fluids? How do you handle medical emergencies? 11) Enloe Magnet: What is has been the greatest challenge physically, or the greatest physical obstacle with regards to space travel that you've had to overcome and how did you do it? 12) Poolesville: How do you deal with health issues in space? 13) Cotopaxi: Now that you have seen Earth from space do you have a different prospective about Earth? (7th grade) 14) Enloe Magnet: What character traits and academic background does a person need if they want to become an astronaut? 15) Poolesville: Would you support and/or participate in a venture to move the ISS to a Mars orbit? 16) Cotopaxi: Would mold grow on a piece of lost food? Where would the mold come from? 17) Enloe Magnet: (in Russian) What subjects did you have to study in college that aided you in becoming an astronaut? 18) Poolesville: What are some of the challenges that you faced in astronaut training? 19) Cotopaxi: What kinds of experiments are going on in the ISS right now? 20) Poolesville: What is your favourite part about being in space? 21) Cotopaxi: How do astronauts leave the ISS for a space walk without the air inside escaping?

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

Next planned event(s): 1. Newcomers Club in Saitama, Japan direct via JK1ZAM, Sat 2008-11-15 10:22 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