STUDENTS AT “SCIENCE ON
STAGE” FESTIVAL TALK WITH ISS
“Science on Stage” is a programme for European Science
Teachers. This year, the Festival goes on 21-25 November at CERN (
ESA, the European Space Agency, has invited students
from 6 different countries for a 3 days visit at CERN during the Festival. ESA
has asked ARISS to set up an
They had prepared these questions:
1. My name is Shana.
When you are up in space, looking down at the Earth, can you see the air
pollution or do you need a special device? OVER
2. My name is Mark. When I sleep I turn around in my
bed to be comfortable. Do you turn around when you sleep in space? OVER
3. My name is Anna-Maria. What can the astronauts eat
in the Space Station? Are there any restrictions in their diet? OVER
4. My name is Valerio.
If you put your thumb over the Sun, from the ISS, can you see the solar corona?
Can you see the stars in the background? OVER
5. My name is Frederik. Are you able to watch extreme
weather on the earth from the ISS? OVER
6. My name is João. What was the biggest difficulty
that you have experienced in space so far? OVER
7. My name is Sanne.
The calcium in the bones of astronauts is being broken down as fast as
on Earth but bone tissue is very slowly produced. Why is this? OVER
8. My name is Mark. When did you become interested in
spaceflight? OVER
9. My name is Eleni. In what way can manned
spaceflight contribute to the study of environmental and ecological problems,
such as the ozone hole or greenhouse effect? OVER
10. My name is Vassil.
When you look outside of the ISS what is similar to looking outside of an
airplane and what is totally different (besides floating)? OVER
11. My name is Sarah. Is it possible to see damages on
the earth, like earthquakes, oil spills or reduction of rain forests? OVER
12. My name is Monica. Do you now feel
the same person you were before going into space? OVER
13. My name is Hans. What protects a shuttle against
the dangerous radiation of sun flares? When they are powerful can’t they get
through the protection shields? OVER
14. My name is Sofie. Do you feel safe in space or are
you afraid of accidents? OVER
15. My name is Keramida. What are the qualifications that
somebody needs in order to become an astronaut? OVER
16. My name is Valerio. How long is your stay in
orbit? Do you have some privacy? How many are you together and what space do
you have in total? OVER
17. My name is Jannicke. Can you describe what it’s
like to walk outside the ISS, to repair something for instance? OVER
18. My name is
ESA’s planning wanted the space contact to take place
on
The contact was a success. Bill McArthur answered 17 questions during the 9 minutes long contact. See audio recording hereto appended.
The radio at NN1SS was operated by Frank Bauer,
KA3HDO, Will Marchant, KC6ROL acted as moderator and Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
presented ARISS to the audience and conducted operations at CERN.
Besides the 30 students invited by ESA,
many science teachers attended the event in CERN’s main auditorium.
CERN’s technical team did an excellent job setting up
the telebridge which, as usually, was offered courtesy of MCI.
Members of CERN’s amateur radio club also assisted : Claudia Wulz, F5NYQ, Jaakko Koivuniemi, OH7BF and Betty Magnin, F8IOC.
The space talk was relayed realtime to several
continents. Dieter Schliemann, KX4Y provided the feed into Echolink and Wayne
Harasimovitch, VE1WPH set up the feed to IRLP.
Congratulations and many thanks for a job well done.
73
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS-Europe chairman