An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Summer camp "Astronauts in forest", Perugia, Italy on 2 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:52 UTC.

The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and ON4ISS. The contact should be audible over Belgium 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.

The educational proposal regards a program of space activities during the summer camp "Astronauts in forest" for children from 11 to 14 years that takes place in Umbria - Castel Rigone (PG). The camp is organized by Panda Avventure srl that is a Company established in Rome in 1990 to organize tourist activities, environmental and educational programs for groups in Italy and abroad. Since 1990, in cooperation with WWF -Italy, we organize outdoor holidays and school camps for young people between the ages of 6 and 17 and holidays for groups of families with children. Every year participants number more than 3500. We organized Summer Space Camp for ESA in Spain (1999 and 2000) and in Italy (2002) We conduct different kinds of tourist resorts for groups in Italy and abroad that include an Hostel for 60 people in Umbria, near Trasimeno Lake. Since 2009, at the Hostel La Foresta, Panda Avventure - in cooperation with WWF Italy - organized a summer space camp related to space discovery - "Astronauts in Forest"- for children from 11 to 14 years. The camp was supported by ESA - ESRIN that cooperated to the programme and provided the educational material. The summer camp is aimed to let children understand that it is necessary to study and protect our environment, that space researches are very important for the future of our Planet and young generations; also to initiate them to the use of scientific instruments. During summer 2010 we will organize 8 school camps related to space: On July 2010 - 4 summer camps for about 100 children in all will be entirely based on astronomy and space education. On August 2010 - 4 summer camps for about 120 children in all, will be mostly based on nature discovery but will include also researches and activities about space and the study of English (as one of Astronauts' common languages).

Participants will ask as many of the following questions (translated) as time allows:

1. Why is the ISS composed of many modules? 2. What is the actual size of the ISS? 3. How long have you been in Space? 4. What exactly is your role in the crew? 5. Is it fun to live without gravity? 6. What is your typical daily routine? 7. When you were a child, did you wish for becoming an astronaut? 8. What is the most beautiful thing in Space? 9. How long does the training before the mission to the ISS? 10. What kind of problems do you usually have on board the ISS? 11. Is the team spirit important for a successful space enterprise? 12. What do you learn from your space experience? 13. How many hours a day do you work? 14. What do you usually do in your free time? 15. What can you see from the ISS? 16. What happens if you fall sick? 17. How do you communicate with your family? 18. How would you describe your feelings about being away from Earth? 19. What would be the duration you can imagine to live in Space? 20. What are the steps to become an astronaut?

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

Next planned event(s):

1. Cavett Kids Foundation's Camp Cavett, OU Medical Center, Kingston, OK Thu 8 July 2010 20:35 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,

David - AA4KN