Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report March 8, 2010

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Ikaruga Elementary School in Taishi Town, Hyogo, Japan on Tuesday, March 9 at 07:28 UTC. In the classroom, students learned about their local environment as well as that of the earth on a global scale, and studied environmental issues such as global warming. They also researched the ISS to prepare for this contact. This activity is a crew pick of JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi who is an alumnus of the school.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with 18 Dimotiko Scholeio Peristeriou in Athens, Attica Region, Greece on Tuesday, March 16 at 11:37 UTC. The contact was integrated in the school curriculum through astronomy and amateur radio lectures and special attention was given to the ISS regarding its role in humanity and science. The ISS courses were based on ESA's "ISS Education Kit." The amateur radio presentation included a demonstration of the equipment and its operation.

2. JAXA Astronaut Enjoys ARISS Contact with Alma Mater

Expedition 22 astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with his alma mater, Hamasuka Junior High School, in Chigasaki City, Japan on Thursday, March 4. Approximately 300 attended the event and watched as fifteen students asked their questions. Three newspapers and three television stations, including Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) covered the event.

3. ARISS to Receive Boselli Award

The "Associazione Italiana Radioascolto" A.I.R. (Italian Radio Listeners Association) has awarded the Boselli prize 2010 to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. The A.I.R. Board found that ARISS meets every requirement for the award, which is bestowed on "radio enthusiasts who promote the culture of radio, showing the importance of radio communications to hundreds of young students in Italy, Europe and beyond, spreading the use of radio from the forefront of science in the vast outer space down to small classrooms." The prize will be delivered on May 8 in Faenza during the A.I.R. annual meeting.

4. Astronaut Training Status

On Monday, March 15, astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA will take part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) simulated contact with students from Quintino Sella, Biella, Italy. The contact is slated for approximately 13:30 UTC. Audio will be available on IRLP. This training session is a terrestrial-based amateur radio contact using ARISS equivalent equipment.

A Russian training session was held with astronaut Tracy Caldwell, KF5DBF which covered the use of ARISS equipment. Caldwell will fly with Expedition 23 in April. Photos of the session are available on the Energia Web site: http://www.energia.ru/en/news/news-2010/photo_02-27.html