Wednesday January 12, 2005

FRENCH ROBESPIERRE SCHOOL HAS A SPACE RENDEZ-VOUS TUESDAY 18 JANUARY 2005

The « Robespierre » school is located in Rueil-Malmaison, 20 km from Paris. It is a primary school with 250 pupils aged 6 – 10 years.

Maximilien Robespierre was a famous character of the French revolution in 1789. Rueil-Malmaison is a lovely city surrounded by a large forest, parks and gardens, for the happiness of its 75,000 inhabitants. In the 17th century, the Cardinal of Richelieu, minister of King Louis the 13th, was the lord of Rueil. In 1799, Napoleon the 1st and his wife Josephine lived in the nice castle of Malmaison. At the end of the 19th century, famous impressionist painters like Renoir, Manet and Monet used to find scenery inspiration at the banks of the nearby Seine river.

The Robespierre school has developed an educational programme covering as well learning techniques as environmental, earth and space related subjects. Eight teachers are involved in the programme. An ARISS School Contact is the main motivation for this educational effort.

The teachers are assisted by radioamateurs and by members of AMSAT France. The Radio Club of Rueil-Malmaison will provide the radio link to the International Space Station.

The students have prepared the following questions:

1. Nils (2nd Grade): What time is it for you? Is it the US time for the American astronauts and the Moscow time for Russian cosmonauts?

2. Antoine (1st Grade): What is the most beautiful thing you have seen in the space?

3. Arthur (3rd Grade): How do you manage to get air & water in the ISS?

4. Marie (3rd Grade): Do you see the stars better than us?

5. Jack (4th Grade): How good is it to be in zero gravity, what kind of feeling does it make?

6. Laetitia (4th Grade): What are you currently studying? For what reason? Now, have you found what you are looking for?

7. Alexandre (5th Grade): Could you recognise the continents, or the Great Wall of China, or the largest cities like Paris or New York?

8. Axel  (5th Grade): Are you realising your childhood dreams?

9. Vincent & Mathilde (5th Grade): What do you have for breakfast? Do you have microwave ovens to cook your food?

10. Thomas (5th Grade): Would you prefer to stay in space forever?

11. William (5th Grade): What will you do in case of a general failure on the ISS?

12. Rojo (5th Grade): How do you prepare yourself before going to space?

13. Alexandre (4th Grade): How many kilometers will you  accumulate?

14. Elodie (4th Grade): Is it difficult to become an astronaut?

15. Charles Hubert (5th Grade): How many hours do you spend to sleep?

16. William (5th Grade): Is it the first Space Station you are flying in?

17. Axel (5th Grade): What did you see in the space that we could not see on the earth?

18. Antoine (5th Grade): Do you need to repair anything in the ISS?

19. Vincent  (5th Grade): What does the Earth look like, seen from the ISS?

20. Antoine (5th Grade): Have you given a name or nickname to the ISS?

The contact is scheduled Tuesday 18 January 2005 at 16:55 UTC, i.e. 17:55 Continental European Time.

Interested parties are invited to listen to the downlink signals on 145.800 MHz FM.

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF

ARISS-Europe chairman