An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Yellowknife R.C.M.P. Headquarters, Yellowknife, NWT, Canada on 11 MAY. The event is scheduled to begin at approximatAely 18:46 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and k6DUE. The contact should be audible over the eastern U.S. 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.

Yellowknife is the capital city of Northwest Territories in Canada's north and has a population around 20 000. Yellowknife is found on the north shore of Great Slave Lake and on the west side of Yellowknife Bay, near the outlet of the Yellowknife River. Yellowknife is known as the "diamond capital of North America" because there are three mines near our city.

This event in Yellowknife brings in many areas of our community. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment is the host for this event. Our commanding officer will start the event by greeting all who attend. The event will be blessed before the contact by one of our respected Elders. Students from ages 6-17 will ask the questions. They are from local schools, the Side Street Youth Center, and families of police officers. This is a huge celebration of our community connections.

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

1. Can you see Yellowknife from the International Space Station?

2. Are there auroras in outer space, or are they just on the planet?

3. Do you think there is extra terrestrial life?

4. How big is the International Space Station?

5. How do you go to the bathroom in outer space?

6. Are you allowed to bring animals on the ISS?

7. How do you get the engines on the station working?

8. Did you want to go into space when you were a kid?

9. What do you do when all the water is gone on the station?

10. Is it scary going to space?

11. Is it easy getting around the ISS when there is no gravity?

12. What kind of music do you listen to in space?

13. What are you looking forward to the most when you come home?

14. What language do you use when your crew is from other countries?

15. What advice would you give to the youth in our community?

16. What is the coolest thing you have seen from space?

17. What food and drink make up your favorite meal in space?

18. What books do you read in space?

19. Will it be hard to get used to gravity when you come back to Earth?

20. Can you watch movies in your spare time?

PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES:

Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be obtained by subscribing to the SAREX maillist. To subscribe, go to http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/ and choose "How to Subscribe".

Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS).

To receive our Twitter updates go to @ARISS_status

Next planned event(s):

1. Russian contact, direct via TBD

Wed, 15May2013, 07:40 UTC

2. ATR International Youth Forum - "Growth points", Altai Krai

Belokuriha, Russia

Fri, 2013-05-24 20:30 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