An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at EFLS Sainte Marie, Suarlee, Belgium, on 29 May 2007. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 07:22 UTC.

The contact will be a Telebridge between stations NA1SS and W6SRJ. ARISS ground station W6SRJ is located in Santa Rosa, California, USA. NA1SS will be operated by US astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB. Between Santa Rosa, California, and Suarlee, Belgium, the signals will be relayed by telephone line. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Additional listening options are listed below:

IRLP - Connect to the IRLP reflector 9010. You may also connect via the IRLP Discovery website at http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/listen.htm.

EchoLink - The audio from this contact will be available on the EchoLink *AMSAT* (node 101 377) and the *JK1ZRW* (node 277 208) conference rooms. Please connect to the *JK1ZRW* server to keep the load light on the *AMSAT* server. This will ensure good audio quality for all listeners.

The Sainte Marie school is located in Suarlee, a village in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. There are 65 school children in 4 classes, 3-12 years old. The participating class is made up of 19 pupils, ages 10-12. Space is present everywhere in the classroom ... more even since the announcement of the contact with the ISS. The pupils were astonished, more enthusiastic, and deeply engaged in this project. For instance, the pupils examine the huge distances between the planets of the solar system and use Internet research, along with newspapers, to gather up-to-date information about space activities, such as the recent Discovery Shuttle mission.

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

1. What kind of experiments are you conducting on the ISS?

2. What kind of changes does the body experience in weightlessness?

3. Are living conditions very different in space from what they are on earth, for example eating and sleeping?

4. During these months in space, do you feel like you have missed something on earth?

5. Do you have any free-time on ISS during the day?

6. If you had to return to Earth for some reason, how quickly could you do it?

7. What kinds of things do you do for fun?

8. When you are in space, do you think about the ecology of the earth?

9. How are the relations between the astronauts during the mission? Will you stay in touch with them, once you are back on earth?

10. Did you bring some personal items with you, family portraits for example?

11. Up to now, what is your best souvenir of your mission to the ISS? Why?

12. What do you think about space tourism? Is it going to slow down your work?

13. What kinds of things do you think about when you are looking at the Blue Planet?

14. Is it sometimes possible for you to have a moment alone?

15. How do you keep up with the different time zones? What time is it currently aboard the ISS?

16. During your training, do you have enough time to prepare everything you are going to do for 6 months?

17. Is your health constantly monitored from earth?

18. What are the benefits of having female crewmembers on ISS?

Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .

Next planned event(s):

NASA Teacher to Teacher Conference, NASA/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, Telebridge via WH6PN Thursday 2007-05-31 17:32 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.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73,

Stephen Ponder - N5WBI