ARISS school contact planned December 6, 2012 with school in California. Downlink signals audible over Europe

An International Space Station school contact has been planned December 6, 2012 with participants at Kline School, Costa Mesa, California. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 20:00 UTC, which is 21:00 CEWT.

The contact will be operated by IK1SLD, located in Casale Monferato, northern Italy. Interested parties in Europe are invited to listen to dowlink signals on 145.800 MHz FM.

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

Kline School is a small private school serving children ages 5 to 14. Each of the classrooms accommodates an average of 8-10 students and is equipped with SMART Boards and networked computers. All students have access to technology 100% of the time using personal computers and laptops at their individual desks. Using Kline School’s web-based curriculum students study space exploration, space technologies, and amateur radio communications. A special focus is the year-long study of the Apollo program. Students participate meaningfully in discussions about the history and development of the International Space Station. Using the N.A.S.A. website they learn about the necessary adaptations to living in space. We think of the ARISS contact as the real world application of our students’ studies of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

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

1. Mattie: Were you already a HAM operator before going into space or did you learn so you could become part of the ARISS program?

2. Brandon: How do you re-position the ISS if you need to change its orbit or dodge some space junk?

3. Isaac: Are you permitted to move about the space station at will or do some areas require clearance?

4. Evan: Is there a math concept that when you were learning it you said “What will I ever use this for” that you now find yourself using regularly aboard the space station?

5. Samara: What specialized training do you receive to prepare for EVAs?

6. Tyler: If you were able to see the solar eclipse on November 13-14, what did it look like?

7. Rishi: Are any aircraft within the earth’s atmosphere visible and if so, is this of any value?

8. Elias: As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the last lunar landing mission, Apollo 17, what achievements do you anticipate us celebrating 40 years from now?

9. Aviv: When you work on projects with astronauts from other countries do the language differences cause any problems?

10. Sergei: In your free time, have you ever made an important “accidental” discovery?

11. Mary Grace: What is the emergency medical plan for a serious illness or injury?

12. Alan: Is it difficult to readjust to walking in 1-G on earth after months in micro-gravity?

13. Mattie: Are you able to see shooting stars?

14. Brandon: Do the 30 second periods of weightlessness aboard the “Vomit Comet” adequately prepare you for the long durations of micro-gravity?

15. Isaac: If you could write your own space mission, what would it be?

16. Evan: Are there any experiments that started with the Apollo program that you are still carrying out today?

17. Samara: When performing Crew Earth Observation experiments, do you see any weather phenomena that are undetectable from earth?

18. Tyler: Are the computers aboard the ISS like our PCs and MACs or are they more sophisticated?

19. Rishi: Do you access the Internet the same way we do on earth?

20. Elias: If there is a solar flare event, do you take special precautions?

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