ARISS contact planned February 22, 2013 – Downlink signals readable in Europe

An International Space Station school contact has been planned February 22, 2013 with participants at Uplands Elementary School, Penticton, BC, Canada. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:36 UTC , which is 20:36 CEWT. Chris Hadfield KC5RNJ/VA3OOG will answer students’ questions.

The contact will be a telebridge operated by IK1SLD, located in Northern Italy. Interested parties in Europe are invited to listen to dowlink signals on 145.800 MHz FM. The contact will be conducted in English.

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.

“Dear Chris:

You will be talking to students (K-6) throughout the South Okanagan & Similkameen Valleys in beautiful British Columbia. We have students & home school students from Penticton, West Bench, Oliver & Keremeos. The event is being hosted at Uplands Elementary, a school located in Penticton.

Lisa Edwards, Principal, believes that students can “SOAR with a view to excellence” in the right environment. There have been a team of people in the community whose goal is to make the Ham Radio contact with you a part of a wider educational experience that will inspire students & educators to continue to explore STEM & space exploration for years to come. Thank you for your time and inspiration Chris!!!”

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

1. Ryan: How long have you been a Ham Radio operator and how did you get started?

2. Jera: I've heard that you're collecting specimens of dark matter? What are you looking for?

3. Sophia: How did you get chosen for this mission?

4. Melissa: Do you ever forget how to do things when you come back to earth?

5. Ben/ Cassandra may read for Ben: What type of hospital is set up on the ISS and how would you deal with someone who got seriously hurt or ill?

6. Xander: When you play the guitar does the weightless environment change the sound?

7. Cole: What is the most beautiful or interesting part of the world (to view) from space?

8. Jamie: I'm wondering if you have ever failed at a mission?

9. Madison: How is Oxygen made on the ISS and how do you get rid of Carbon Dioxide to make the air safe?

10. Charlotte: Do you miss not hearing the birds sing?

11. Naomi: Do you sleep well on the space station?

12. Ashley: What would you do if there were a fire on the Space Station?

13. Graham: How do you avoid asteroids?

14. Jacob: Do the windows freeze up?

15. Sienna: How do you measure your time? Do you keep to a 24 hour day?

16. Evan: How do you access the Internet on the ISS?

17. Mark: What have been the most exciting experiments you have done?

18. Celeste: Who decides which missions happen and how do they choose?

19. Miguel: When you looked out the window at Earth for the first time how did you feel?

20. Kaydence: How do you get fresh air in space?

21. Kelan: Why is the International Space Station in space?

22. Sophie: How did you feel when you went outside the ISS for the first time in a space suit and what in your space walk was most surprising?

23. Nathan: Is there any space matter that attaches itself to the ISS that has to be scraped off?

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