International Space Station ARISS school contacts have been planned with participants at Science Dream Association (SDA), Kobe-city, Japan and Marcelino Canino Canino Middle School, Dorado, Puerto Rico on 31 March. The events are scheduled to begin at approximately 0956 UTC and 1536 UTC respectively.

The first contact will be a direct between NA1SS and 8N3S, the second is also a direct between stations NA1SS and KP4RF. The contacts should be audible over Japan and then the Caribbean. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Science Dream Association (SDA) is a non-profit organization (NPO) which was founded on February the 4th in 2007. The SDA's purpose is to promote truly enjoyable science education in collaboration with children, parents and school teachers. The SDA helps children to understand integrated study of science such as the value of living things, the mechanism of the device in our life, and the craftsmanship based on the wisdom of our experience.

Participants from SDA will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How do you like your meal in the ISS? 2. Have you come across the UFO? 3. How does the earth look like from the station? Is it bigger or smaller than you had expected? 4. What will you do if you become ill in the space? 5. How do the stars around look like? Are they beautiful? 6. Can you take a bath in the ISS? 7. What is the most important duty in the ISS life? 8. What entertain you most in the routine at the station? 9. What kind of experiments are you making in the station? 10. How fast is the ISS traveling around the earth? 11. What was the hardest job you have done in the station? 12. Is it tiring to keep yourself floating at zero gravity? 13. Is it warm or cool inside the station? 14. Do you bring oxygen from the earth when you leave for the space? Is there any possibility of running out of oxygen? 15. How do you sleep in the station? 16. How big is the ISS? 17. What made you most surprised in the space? 18. How does the earth look like from the station? 19. What kind of space food do you like best? 20. What is the temperature like out in the space? Is it hot or cold out there? 21. Could you eat and drink without any problems at zero gravity? 22. Does the space look endlessly when you look out over from the window? 23. What is the most difficult thing to do in the routine in ISS? 24. Beside the sun, the earth, the moon, what other planets or stars can you see from ISS? 25. Does the space look beautiful from ISS? 26. What kind of impression did you have when you were in the space for the first time? 27. What do you think is inconvenient about the ISS life? 28. How do you deal with the garbage in the ISS? 29. Which standard time are you using in the ISS? 30. What is the most necessary thing if we live in the space for a long time?

Our middle schools covers 7th - 9th grades, most of our population is made up of underprivileged students as stated in our brief school description. Five years ago I implemented our Microsatellite Student Project sponsored by NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium, we are also part of the NASA Explorer Schools program and other science teaching initiatives like the Microsatellite Student program. In our pursuit of activities that will capture our students' interest and teach them valuable life lessons as well as science and technology content I remembered how much my previous school profited from an ARISS contact in 2002 with astronaut Karl Walz. I had the privilege of working this proposal as teacher and amateur radio operator and my students learned a lot from the process starting with the planning stages, discussing space travel, NASA missions and amateur radio before, during and after the communication. This was integrated into all areas of the curriculum which is exactly what I intend to do integrating the activities to all subjects and for all levels starting from special education students and moving through the regular classes and the advanced groups. We are a rural school with an enrollment of approximately 580 students, over 77% of our students live below the poverty level. About a third of our students are special needs kids. We are a small school community but we are big on strategies that will help keep our students in school and show them how rewarding careers in STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas can be.

Participants from the Marcelino will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What do you do with leftovers from your meals? 2. How do you take care of your dirty laundry? 3. How do you manage so your food does not fly away in zero gravity? 4. How do you go to the bathroom? 5. How does the earth look like from space? 6. What is your mission in the space station? 7. How do you know if it is day or night? 8. How do you exercise in space? 9. How do you know are being protected from radiation even though there is no ozone layer to protect you? 10. What is it like working with people from other countries in space? Do you speak many languages? 11. How do you prevent getting dizzy if the liquid in your ears is moving freely and should be attracted to gravity in order to maintain balance? 12. What happens if someone in the station gets extremely sick or severely injured? 13. We know that you work very hard in space. What do you do to relax and have fun? 14. Do you get homesick in space? If so, how do you deal with it? 15. Has space garbage crashed with the ISS?

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

Next planned event(s): 1. Kalori Catholic School, Wallaro, Australia, via WH6PH, Wed 2009-04-01 07:25 UTC 2. Milwee Middle School, Longwood, Florida via ON4ISS, Wed 2009-04-01 17:55 UTC 3. Miyahara Elementary School, Saitama, Japan, Thu 2009-04-02 09:14 UTC 4. CAMUS, Viry Châtillon, France, Thu 2009-04-02 13:35 UTC 5. Carl Sandburg Elementary, Kirkland, WA, via W6SRJ, Thu 2009-04-02 19:35 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