An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Richmond Heights Middle School, Miami, FL on 15 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 16:09 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and W1HQL. The contact should be audible over portions of the eastern U.S. and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.

RICHMOND HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Richmond Heights Middle School opened its doors in 1963 in the Richmond Heights community in southwest Miami, Florida. The now 50 year old school, is located in a historic African American Community. An army captain by the name of Frank C. Martin believed it to be a wise investment as well as the right thing to do to establish a housing development in which Black veterans of WWII could purchase their own home. There are currently 636 students and a teaching staff of 41 faculty members. Along with its exemplary athletics program, full time gifted program, and Cambridge program, Richmond Heights Middle School offers a Zoology Magnet program to the students of Miami Dade County Public Schools. This is an extremely unique magnet program that is one of only three in the nation. The zoology magnet is a result of a partnership with Zoo Miami, the Zoological Society of Florida and Richmond Heights Middle School. It has been in existence since 1988. Students have the unique opportunity to visit the zoo to study the animals within their exhibits while engaging in STEM fields of study.

BIOTECH @ RICHMOND HEIGHTS 9-12 HIGH SCHOOL

BioTECH @ Richmond Heights 9-12 High School is the only Conservation Biology public magnet high school is the United States and boasts three campuses: our educational center at Richmond Campus, our Research Station at Zoo Miami, and our Botanical Outpost at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. BioTECH provides students with a challenging and advanced level math and science curriculum focused on Conservation Biology that exposes them to rigorous STEM coursework as well as research opportunities with practicing scientists in state-of-the-art laboratories. In classes taken on-site at Zoo Miami, students study the human impact on biological diversity, making BioTECH the only school in the country to offer a full research and teaching facility within zoo grounds. Research experiences are offered in collaboration with the local zoo and the local research and botanic garden. BioTECH is currently home to 130 students that travel within the boundaries of a 467 square mile area to attend this unique school. The school opened its doors in August 2014 with a total of 8 faculty members, 7 support staff members, and an arsenal of practicing scientists and conservation educators from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Zoo Miami, Zoological Society of Florida, Everglades National Park, The Dumond Conservancy, and Biscayne National Park.

1. How would astronauts combat disease, say an accidental infection by a Salmonella culture, given the increased virulence of microbes in space?

2. What kind of work is the crew doing in support of the future missions to Mars?

3. We have a 3D printer in our school. What are the future implications of having a 3D printer on-board? What types of prints will you create?

4. Does experiencing a sunrise/sunset every 90 minutes change your sleep/wake cycles?

5. Do you feel physical exhaustion in space at the end of your work day? How long is your work day?

6. Without gravity, how do plants, such as Arabidopsis, determine orientation germination? Geotropism what do roots do? Do plants on the ISS

grow in all different directions?

7. Do you feel stressed on the space station? How do you cope with stress on a space station and does it have more or less of an effect on your immune

system in space? Measure muscle conditioning?

8. How are astronaut diets altered to accommodate the changes to the digestive system in microgravity?

9. All work and no play can be boring. What do you do for fun up in space?

10. How do you keep from feeling trapped in the space station?

11. What role did your education play in becoming an astronaut?

12. Which teacher influenced you the most in your life and why?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

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Next planned event(s):

NHK "Masakame" event, Shibuya, Japan, direct via TBD

Contact is a go for Sat, 24Jan2015, 14:21 UTC

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA.

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/

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN

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