An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at Escola Secundaria de Estarreja, Estarreja, Portugal on 09 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:06 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and CT6ESE. The contact should be audible in western portions of Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

The Estarreja Secondary School is one of the largest in Central Portugal with 1200 students and 57 classes that range from the scientific areas of IT, Mechanics, Electronics and Robotics Engineering, to Chemistry and Biology. The school also has a tradition in the teaching of foreign languages with departments of English, German, French and Spanish. There are classes from the 7th to the 12th grade (pre-university) and the school issues European Union Level 4 professional qualifications in the Engineering classes. The school also hosts an Aveiro University branch with a class of 20 students from Electronics and Automation Engineering.

Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What do you have to do to become an astronaut? 2. What do you feel during the lift-off and the trip to the ISS? 3. What is the sensation of being in orbit? 4. What kind of experiments are you doing right now? 5. How is it like to experience a zero-gravity environment? 6. What limitations do you have while you are in Space? 7. Have you done any EVA during this mission? If yes, for what purpose?

8. How do you spend your spare time? 9. How many astronauts are on-board right now? 10. What radio and antenna equipment are you using to communicate with us right now? 11. Have you faced any problem that could endanger your mission? 12. How is it like to have visitors on-board with you and how do they react to life on-board the ISS? 13. How do you get protected from solar flares and radiation? What is the temperature inside the ISS? 14. When you come back to Earth, do you feel like you have to relearn how to live here? 15. Is there something that you really miss from Earth? 16. What would you say to a little kid who wants to become an astronaut? 17. What is the sensation when you are looking down to Earth? 18. What are the dangers while you are in Space? 19. If traveling throughout the Universe were possible, would you offer yourself to go there? 20. In your opinion, where do humans and the life on Earth come from? Do you believe in life somewhere in the infinity of the Universe?

Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS is not functioning in the automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact .

Next planned event(s): Barrhaven Public School, Ottawa, ON, Canada, direct via VA3MGY Tue 2007-05-15 15:27 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.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO