Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report March 29, 2010

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for Walnut Creek Elementary School in Azle, Texas on Monday, March 29 at 15:08 UTC. Students researched and created models of selected space objects and gave presentations of their work to the class. Retired Lockheed employees and members of local radio clubs gave demonstrations of satellite communications to the youth. The school recently formed an amateur radio club and students have enjoyed learning what radios can do.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Scuola Primaria De Gasperi in Noicattaro, Bari, Italy on Tuesday, April 6 at 10:47 UTC. This is a public primary school with an enrollment of 700 students, ages 6 - 11. To prepare for the contact, students have studied the principles of radio communications and space missions.

2. Expedition 23 Astronaut Speaks with Japanese Youth via ARISS

On Thursday, March 25, Expedition 23 astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP participated in a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Shiogama Daini Junior High School students from Shiogama, Japan. To prepare for the session, students compiled fifteen questions about life and work in space. Through their science classes, they learned about astronomy and communication via radio waves. Some students continued their training and studied for their amateur radio license exams.