Upcoming ARISS School Contacts

Upcoming school contacts

revised 2012-02-02

The ARISS operational team maintains a list of scheduled school contacts, and regularly updates it as necessary to take into account crew workload, and other changes to Space Agency scheduling. This page provides information about what we expect will happen, but readers should be aware that there may always be last minute changes and cancellations.

Tentative list of upcoming school contacts.

Next Contact

Every effort will be made to keep the information on the next contact current, but occasionally, due to other responsibilities, I may not be able to keep the information below up to date. (the webmaster)

The International Space Station's Expedition 30 is now onboard. The following ARISS contacts have been scheduled:

04 February at 12:42 UTC - Zespol Szkol nr 8, Walbrzych, Poland
08 February at 15:10 UTC - Inuksuk High School, Iqaluit Nunavut, Canada
11 February at 10:29 UTC - Soumuta Elementary School, Kagoshima, Japan

Zespol Szkol nr 8, Walbrzych, Poland - Don Pettit, KD5MDT
Saturday, February 4, 2012

Telebridge station W6SRJ in California, USA will call NA1SS at approximately 12:42 UTC.

The Polytechnic school in Walbrzych has been established in 1946. These days it is well known as Secondary Complex School "Energetyk", where participate over 900 students. They learn in such directions as: electrician, electro-mechanics, electronics, technician graphic, technician telecommunications, technician IT, technician ITC, technician organization of advertising. The school is designed for people with disabilities, educates on a very high-level, and graduate students can easily find employment. It is the best technical school in Walbrzych.

Apart from everyday teaching, school offers many other activities. The Shooting section continuously works for sixty years, and takes leading positions in "The Silver Muskets" contest. Since three years students take part in Robotics Group, where acquiring knowledge and have a lot of fun, when builds robots from scratch, according to their own ideas and knowledge. Several times they have won a place on the podium in prestigious competitions on an International scale. There is also the school band "Underland". The band is well-known in Walbrzych because they give a lot of concerts, in the city and around them. In school is active "Energol TV" and school newspaper "Alcatraz 2".

At school is located amateur radio club SP6PBA, which beside communications with HAM operators from all over the World, transmitting HAM TV in 1.2 GHz band.

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

1. What is the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut?
2. How does it feel to be weightless?
3. How long does it take to get accustomed to gravity after returning to Earth from the ISS?
4. Are large structures on the Earth such as the Chinese wall or the artificial islands in Dubai visible from the ISS? What else?
5. Is eating in weightlessness difficult?
6. How do you spend your free time on the station?
7. Has the crew got any health problems related to being in space?
8. What kind of everyday tasks and what kind of experiments do you perform on the ISS?
9. How did it happen that you became an astronaut? Did you dream about it as a child?
10. Do you keep in touch with your family when you are in space?
11. Are you provided with media such as phone, Internet, radio or TV?
12. Is the rubbish thrown out into space or brought back to Earth?
13. Which planets of our solar system apart from Earth can you see through the window in Cupola module?
14. Is it hard to take care of personal hygiene in the absence of gravity?
15. How long does the trip from lift-off until docking at the ISS last?
16. How long does an astronaut’s mission training last?
17. How did you celebrate the beginning of 2012 on the station and which time zone did you have to adjust to?

*****

Inuksuk High School, Iqaluit Nunavut, Canada - Don Pettit, KD5MDT

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Telebridge station AH6NM in Hawaii, USA will call NA1SS at approximately 15:10 UTC.

The school, with its large gymnasium, is one of only a handful of public structures in the territorial capital. A number of important events have been held there, including a visit by Queen Elizabeth. The gymnasium was also the first temporary home of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut after the territory was created in 1999.
Inuksuk High School is the high school of Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It offers grades 9 through 12 (ages 14-18) to a student population of about 450. The focus of the school is on teaching Inuit language and culture.

Other schools in Iqaluit include a Middle school Aqsarniit Illinarvik and three elementary schools, Nakasuk School, Joamie Ilinniarvik School, the French-language Ecole de Trois-Soleils and the Inuktitut language elementary, Nanook School, in nearby Apex. Also located in the capital is Nunavut Arctic College, the only post secondary institution in the territory.

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

1. How did you get involved in the space program with NASA?
2. What is the most difficult part of training when preparing to become an astronaut?
3. How did you and your family feel when you got selected for the mission?
4. What is the most amazing thing about being in space?
5. What countries are represented on the station?
6. What kind of research do you do and why?
7. How is your daily schedule affected without a defined day/night cycle?
8. How is food prepared and meals done in space?
9. How are space walks prepared and carried on?
10. How has being in zero gravity affected your body and daily life?
11. What evidence of climate change do you see from space?
12. How do you take care of your daily hygiene needs?
13. How do your waste disposal systems work?
14. How are your medical needs met?
15. What is your biggest fear about traveling in space?
16. How do you keep in contact with family and friends?
17. What are you looking forward to doing the most when back on Earth?
18. After being in space, what is your opinion about life out there?
19. Do you see space travel becoming available to anyone in the future?
20. Why do you think answering young peoples’ questions about space is important?

*****

Soumuta Elementary School, Kagoshima, Japan - Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Station 8J6SMT in Japan will call NA1SS at approximately 10:29 UTC.

Somuta Elementary School is located near the Sakurajima volcano (31.5943N 130.6580E). Recently Sakurajima is erupting and smoking.
Therefore, we make some questions about Sakurajima.

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

1. In Kagoshima we have a volcano called Sakurajima, can you see its eruption from ISS?
2. What is the most beautiful thing that you have seen so far?
3. What kind of space foods do you have?
4. What do you do when you get a fever or feel sick?
5. What do you do, if a machine isn't working?
6. What are you investigating now in ISS?
7. What is an inconvenient and a convenient thing when you live in the weightless world?
8. Is there the change in temperature from season to season in space?
9. Have you ever seen an Alien or UFO?
10. What do you do if you run out of food?
11. Do you get dizzy when you spin around in ISS?
12. What was the hardest part of the training for the crew?
13. Do you feel the weight when you wear the space suit in ISS?
14. What position are you in when you eat a meal in space?
15. What happens when you drink carbonated water in space?
16. Do you have a thing such as motion sickness when you go to space?
17. Do tears flow in space?
18. What are you the most careful about in space?
19. How do you brush your teeth in ISS?
20. How do you carry space food into ISS?
21. What change will happen to my body if I go to space?
22. What kind of equipments are there in ISS?
23. How dose space food taste?
24. How many hours do your work in a day in ISS?
25. I think that there is gravity when the rocket is launching off. Are there other dangers?
26. What is the most difficult thing when you are going into space?
27. Are you glad that you went to space?
28. Who pays the expense to go to space?

*****

As always, the ISS will be audible to anyone listening in on the 145.80 MHz downlink.

*Note* - for telebridge contacts, the ground station will NOT be near the school that is contacting the ISS.

Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS will be turned off prior to the beginning of the contact. It will be returned to service as quickly as possible.

Upcoming ARISS events can be found at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf The next scheduled event is a contact with students from Zespol Szkol nr 8 in Walbrzych, Poland on Saturday, February 4 at approximately 12:42 UTC. This will be a telebridge contact via station W6SRJ in California, USA.

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 on-board 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. Further information on the ARISS programme is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada). Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact.

Send comments or questions to: C Jackson