ARISS contact planned with school in Australia – Downlink audible over Europe

Sunday September 9, 2012 at 08.50 UTC, which is 10.50 CEST, an ARISS contact is planned with Tara Anglican School, North Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.

This will be a telebridge radio contact operated by ON4ISS in Belgium. Downlink signals from the International Space Station will be audible over Europe on 145.800 MHz FM.

The contact will also be broadcast on EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377) and JK1ZRW (node 277 208) Conference servers, as well as on IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010.

Tara was selected by Oxford University as the Australian school to participate in the Global Jet Watch Program which links astronomers at Oxford University with students from four high schools around the world in Australia, Chile, South Africa and India in order to carry out cutting edge research. Oxford University has installed a research grade 20 inch RC Optical telescope, together with custom designed instrumentation and an observatory with a 4.5 metre dome in Tara's grounds for use by the students.

Tara also has formed a partnership with the Astronomical Society of NSW (ASNSW) though which the students are mentored in complex astronomy projects by experienced amateur astronomers who volunteer their time and expertise. The ASNSW runs astronomy courses at Tara and has opened Crago Observatory at Bowern Mountain to students of the Space Odyssey Team.

Students will ask as many of following questions as time allows.

1. Rebecca: What inspired you to become an astronaut?

2. Natasha: What has amazed you most about being in Space?

3. Melanie: What clock time do you use in Space?

4. Grace Dugdale: Can you tell us about any of the research projects you are working on during the current ISS mission?

5. Brooke: What happens if you get sick in Space? Do all astronauts have medical training to deal with this?

6. Adithya: Have you ever dropped anything outside of the craft and do you think there will one day be a ring around the Earth of dropped tools and debris?

7. Andrea: How is your day organised on the ISS?

8. Marissa: Do you ever see, or been hit by, any space junk or meteorites while in the ISS?

9. Sarah: How does it make you feel to look back at the Earth from the ISS?

10. Steph: Have you ever heard a sound from an object outside your spaceship? If so, what caused it?

11. Matt: What is the thing you miss most from Earth?

12. Sammy: Where does the energy to power the Space Station for so long come from?

13. Nicole: How have your experiences in Space altered your view of the world when you come back to Earth?

14. Cristen: What is your advice to kids who want to travel in Space one day?

15. Lian: What are the side effects of taking off and living in Space?

16. Leandra: What food do you eat in Space?

17. Keira: How long did you train to be an astronaut?

18. Emma: Given that you are continuing to move in and out of night, how do you maintain your body clock in Space?

19. Bella: What exercise do you do while in Space?

20. Pranav: Do you believe there is intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe?

21. Sophie: How were you chosen to go into Space?

22. Tara: What do you do in your spare time in the Space station?

23. Claudia: If you could take one extra object from Earth, what would it be?

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 onboard 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.

73, Gaston Bertels, ON4WF

ARISS Chairman