ARISS News Release                                                                                          No.   20-22    
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact is Scheduled for
Ramona Lutheran Christian School, Ramona, CA
 
October 13, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Ramona Lutheran Christian School (RLCS) in Ramona, CA and ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. The Ramona Outback Amateur Radio Society (ROARS) ham operators using call sign N6ROR will operate the ground station for this contact. Students will take turns asking Cassidy their questions.
 
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 14, 2020 at 9:26 am PDT (Ramona) (16:26 UTC, 12:26 pm EDT, 11:26 am CDT and 10:26 am MDT).
 
RLCS (with students in preschool through sixth grade) is located in an unincorporated mountain community approximately 40 miles northeast of San Diego. In addition to the school’s classical course curriculum, RLCS also involves students in STEM-enrichment club activities that include robotics, coding, physics, space-related sciences, and radio theory. In 2019, the Amateur Radio Relay League awarded RLCS an Icom IC-9700 radio built and designed for communications with amateur radio satellites—resulting in the first school radio station in Ramona, and one solar-powered thanks to equipment provided by ROARS. The ARISS contact will utilize this set-up. ROARS members have helped students prepare for their ARISS contact and mentored them on amateur radio operating protocol including emergency communications and Morse code practice.
 
ARISS invites the public to view the ARISS radio contact at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7t7tYq7WQo&feature=youtu.be.
_____________________________
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
 
1. How has Expedition 63 changed your outlook on life?
2. What is your favorite thing to look at in space?
3. What is most difficult when you are recovering from returning to Earth?
4. What does it feel like when you are on a spacewalk?
5. What was the strangest thing that's happened to you while you were in space?
6. What is your favorite activity when you have free time on the ISS?
7. How likely do you think it is that I will visit outer space in my lifetime, even if I never become an astronaut?
8. What does it feel like to sleep on the ISS?
9. What mission were you most scared of?
10. What are your favorite experiences of Expedition 63?
11. What has been your favorite experiment on the ISS?
12. About how many repairs are made each week aboard the ISS?
13. What is your favorite game to play in space?
14. What are your 3 favorite foods to eat while on the ISS?
15. What language has been the most challenging to communicate aboard the ISS?
16. What food are you most looking forward to eating when you get home?
17. What fear have you had regarding space?
18. What surprises you the most about how the ISS is today than when you were part of the assembly mission?
19. Which holidays have you enjoyed celebrating on the ISS?
20. What's your favorite number of people aboard the ISS at one time?
21. Who was your favorite astronaut that you have met from another country?
22. What way(s) could we utilize space to help manage our problems with waste disposal on Earth?
23. Do you hope to go back to space or the moon in a commercial space suit via a commercial vehicle?
24. How do you use ham radio on the ISS and after you return to Earth?
 
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Continuous Amateur Radio Operations on the ISS
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                No.   20-19   
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with McConnell Middle School, Loganville, GA
 
October 06, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This will be a Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio between the ISS and students from McConnell Middle School in Loganville, Georgia. Students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR, during the ARISS radio contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 437.525 MHz.  
 
ARISS team member Jan Poppeliers, using call sign ON4ISS (from an AMSAT amateur radio club station in Aartselaar, Belgium), will serve as the relay amateur radio station. Each student asking a question of Cassidy on the ARISS radio will be teleconferenced in from home or social-distanced at school. Youth and faculty and the public can watch the livestreamed action from home.  
 
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 7, 2020 at 10:18 am EDT (Georgia) (14:18 UTC, 9:18 am CDT, 8:18 am MDT, 07:18 am PDT).
 
McConnell Middle School (about 2,300 students ages 11 to 15) is a Gwinnett County public school near Atlanta. The district’s career-planning curriculum group integrated lessons into established science, math and language arts classes before the contact in order to increase student interest and awareness related to space science, expand student experience with research methodologies, and inspire them to pursue studies and careers in science-related fields. The school’s McConnell Radio Club, in its 6th year, is mentored by members of the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society who provide radio classes and equipment for student use, and guided the ARISS project, a part of the faculty’s efforts toward becoming a STEM-certified school.
 
ARISS invites the public to view the livestream of the upcoming ARISS radio contact at:
https://youtu.be/pHOM15BLRSo .
_______________________________
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
 
1. Are there special activities designed for you to help relieve the stress of living and working in space?
2. Describe what surprised you about earth when you got to the ISS.
3. Do you see evidence of the recent West Coast wildfires or other environmental situations?
4. As a middle school student what can we do to prepare ourselves for the job you do today as an astronaut?
5. In the movie The Martian, Mark was trained as a botanist. What is your area of interest and what experiments are you doing in your field?
6. How long is your mission and how do you expect it might impact your body?
7. What was the hardest part of training prior to going to space?
8. How often do you need to do repairs on the outside of the ISS?
9. Describe your medical training that would help if an astronaut becomes ill or seriously injured while on the space station.
10. Standard air pressure on earth is 1 atmosphere. What air pressure do they try to maintain on the ISS?
11. What qualifications do you have that enable you to be assigned to more than one mission or similar?
12. Have you ever tried growing carrots or root vegetables in space?
13. Are there any times where any shipments of food or drinks are running late, or have space flight troubles, and you run out of food or water for the time?
14. How does food taste when you don't get to smell it?
15. How is the ISS designed in case of a collision with space junk or a meteoroid?
16. What is the procedure if spills, liquid or solid, occur during experiments?
17. How do you maintain clean hygiene while in space?
18. What is your normal schedule on the ISS?
 
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                  No.   20-21      
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS SSTV Event Scheduled for early October
 
October 02, 2020 — An ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event is scheduled from the International Space Station (ISS) for early October. The event is scheduled to begin on October 4 at 14:00 UTC for setup and operation and will continue until October 8 ending at 19:15 UTC. Dates and times are subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments
 
Images will be downlinked at 145.8 MHz +/- 3 KHz for Doppler shift and the expected SSTV mode of operation is PD 120. The main theme of this collection of images will be Satellites. Radio enthusiasts participating in the event can post and view images on the ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/ .
 
After your image is posted at the gallery, you can acquire a special award by linking to https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ and follow directions for submitting a digital copy of your received image.
 
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                   No.   20-18    
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Message to US Educators
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Contact Opportunity
 
Call for Proposals
New Proposal Window is October 1st, 2020 to November 24, 2020
 
September 30, 2020 --- The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS.  ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2021 and December 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.
 
The deadline to submit a proposal is November 24th, 2020.  Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on October 8, 2020 at 8 PM ET.  The Eventbrite link to sign up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-fall-2020.eventbrite.com
 
The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
 
An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact.
 
Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. 
 
Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education@gmail.com .
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                       No.   20-16    
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact Scheduled for Students at Avellaneda Ikastetxea, Sodupe, Spain
 
September 15, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. John Sygo, amateur radio call sign ZS6JON in Paardekraal, South Africa will serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio ground station.
 
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for September 18, 2020 at 2:56 pm CEST (Sodupe), (12:56 UTC, 08:56 am EDT, 07:56 am CDT, 06:56 am MDT and 05:56 am PDT).
 
The public is invited to watch the livestream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMDcOZOF2FE&feature=youtu.be
 
The school, Avellaneda Ikastetxea (with about 650 students), is in the small town of Sodupe in northern Spain. The school coordinated with 15 other schools on STEM-based curriculum that includes a STEM mentoring program with Deusto University. First through sixth grade students will participate in the ARISS contact, and have and will prepare for the contact during STEM sessions with learning objectives that include space, gravity, matter, energy and other related topics.
_____________________________
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
 
1. What did you want to be when you were young?
2. What made you think that you wanted to be an astronaut?  Was it your dream?
3. How long does it take from the Earth to Space?
4. How do you feel when you leave the Earth?
5. When you are in space, what do you carry with you in the rocket?  What things do you need?
6. How much time do you spend in space before returning to Earth?
7. What is concretely the objective of your mission?
8. If you are ill, who can help you?
9. Is the space suit comfortable?
10. How do you cook in space?
11. What type of food do you eat?  Do you like it?
12. What is the first thing you'll do when you get back?
13. What do you do in your free time?
14. Is there pollution in space?
15. How many astronauts are there in your space-station?
 
 
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                          No.   20-15    
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact Scheduled for Students at College Raymond Sirot, Gueux, France
 
September 8, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. ARISS telebridge operator Tony Hutchison, call sign VK5ZAI, will relay the ARISS contact via his ham radio ground station in Pinks Beach, Australia.
 
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for September 10, 2020 at 10:17 pm CEST (Gueux) (08:17 UTC, 4:17 am EDT, 3:17 am CDT, 2:17 am MDT and 1:17 am PDT).
 
The school selected for the telebridge ARISS school contact is College Raymond Sirot or Raymond Sirot Middle School (with about 600 students ages 11 to 15) in the small town of Gueux. It is a rural school located in the northeastern area of France, about 100 miles northeast of Paris. The school teaches students a wide range of subjects including technology, physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, and the arts. 
_____________________________
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
 
1. Why did you choose this job?
2. How long did it take to get ready for this mission?
3. What were your feelings when you left the Earth?
4. What was the first thing you did when you got on board the ISS?
5. What are the main objectives of your mission?
6. What are the goals of the experiments made in the ISS?
7. How are you supplied during your mission?
8. How do you get enough water? Do you recycle it?
9. What do you do if an astronaut gets sick on the ISS?
10. How does it feel to witness 16 sunsets and sunrises in one day and therefore, how do you make the difference between night and day?
11. What is the most difficult task of daily life to achieve in weightlessness?
12. Is it difficult to wash yourself? To go to the toilet?
13. What do you do when you have some free time?
14. What is the most difficult thing you have to deal with in the ISS? Being far from your family? Fearing a technical problem? Living close to each other?
15. Do you think that humankind will be able to colonize other planets one day?
16. Since your very first mission, have you noticed any changes on the Earth?
17. What is your best memory in space?
18. What is your worst memory in space?
19. Have you ever been afraid for your life during a space mission?
20. Have you ever observed strange phenomena from the ISS?
 
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                          No.   20-13      
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
First Element of ARISS Next Generation (Next-Gen) Radio System
Installed in ISS Columbus Module
 
September 2, 2020—The ARISS team is pleased to announce that set up and installation of the first element of our next generation radio system was completed and amateur radio operations with it are now underway. This first element, dubbed the InterOperable Radio System (IORS), was installed in the International Space Station Columbus module. The IORS replaces the Ericsson radio system and packet module that were originally certified for spaceflight on July 26, 2000.
 
Initial operation of the new radio system is in FM cross band repeater mode using an uplink frequency of 145.99 MHz with an access tone of 67 Hz and a downlink frequency of 437.800 MHz. System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on September 2. Special operations will continue to be announced.
 
The IORS was launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 6, 2020 on board the SpaceX CRS-20 resupply mission. It consists of a special, space-modified JVC Kenwood D710GA transceiver, an ARISS developed multi-voltage power supply and interconnecting cables. The design, development, fabrication, testing, and launch of the first IORS was an incredible five-year engineering achievement accomplished by the ARISS hardware volunteer team. It will enable new, exciting capabilities for ham radio operators, students, and the general public. Capabilities include a higher power radio, voice repeater, digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities and a Kenwood VC-H1 slow scan television (SSTV) system.
 
A second IORS undergoes flight certification and will be launched later for installation in the Russian Service module. This second system enables dual, simultaneous operations, (e.g. voice repeater and APRS packet), providing diverse opportunities for radio amateurs. It also provides on-orbit redundancy to ensure continuous operations in the event of an IORS component failure. 
 
Next-gen development efforts continue. For the IORS, parts are being procured and a total of ten systems are being fabricated to support flight, additional flight spares, ground testing and astronaut training. Follow-on next generation radio system elements include an L-band repeater uplink capability, currently in development, and a flight Raspberry-Pi, dubbed “ARISS-Pi,” that is just beginning the design phase.  The ARISS-Pi promises operations autonomy and enhanced SSTV operations. 
 
ARISS is run almost entirely by volunteers, and with the help of generous contributions from ARISS sponsors and individuals. Donations to the ARISS program for next generation hardware developments, operations, education, and administration are welcome -- please go to https://www.ariss.org/donate.html to contribute to these efforts.
 
ARISS--Celebrating 20 years of continuous amateur radio operations on the ISS!
 
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                             
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                           No.   20-14     
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact Scheduled for Students at KMO Kolska Wyspa, Koło, Poland
 
September 01, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This ARISS event will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. Martin Diggins, amateur radio call sign VK6MJ, in Australia will serve as the relay amateur radio ground station.
 
The ARISS contact is scheduled for September 2, 2020 at 2:58 pm CEST in Kolo (12:58 pm UTC, 8:58 am EDT, 7:58 am CDT, 6:58 am MDT and 5:58 am PDT).
 
Several educational groups have been selected for the ARISS school contact.
 
The Klub Młodych Odkrywców (KMO) Kolska Wyspa is a club of teen explorers, which was founded in June 2013 and youth have taken part in educational programs in cooperation with the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw. The club is involved in the MoonKAM and the EarthKAM missions. In cooperation with 12 other clubs of teen explorers in Poland, KMO Kolska Wyspa promoted these missions with an exhibition called "The Earth from the Sky.”
 
Also invited to the ARISS contact are students from the Adam Mickiewicz Primary School No. 2, which has 120 students ages 12 to 15, and Kazimierz Wielki Secondary School, which has 90 students ages 16 to 19. Both schools are in Koło. The first offers students the opportunity to take part in many space-related activities and the second school is famous for the construction of robots.
_____________________________
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. What do you do when you get ill or injured?
2. How long did you train before flying into space?
3. What kind of fun activities can you do in the state of microgravity?
4. What kind of food do you eat and is it tasty?
5. As fizzy drinks are forbidden in space because of CO2, so what time and how are you going to celebrate the New Year on the ISS?
6. Do you use any watches and clocks on the station?
7. What do you dream about most of all when you are in space?
8. What kind of spacesuits do you use in outer space?
9. What do astronauts feel when a spaceship docks to the ISS?
10. Is it true that flights in the Crew Dragon are more comfortable than those in the Space Shuttles?
11. What is the effect of space flight on your body?
12. Do you keep in touch with your family or friends on Earth when you are in space?
13. What is the range of temperature inside and outside of the ISS?
14. What do you do in your free time in space?
15. How often do you clean the ISS and why is it so important?
16. Where do you have more appetite on Earth or in space?
17. What kind of books do you read in space?
18. What kind of research are you doing in space right now?
19. What kind of robots do you use in space and what are their applications?
20. How many times can you see fireworks on Earth to celebrate the New Year’s Eve around the World?
 
 
ARISS – Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                               
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                           No.   20-12      
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact Scheduled for Students, Faculty at i-Educate Conference,
Hosted by Queensland Government Department of Education, Brisbane, Australia
 
August 20, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This will be a telebridge contact via amateur radio and students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. There will be a live closed video link, and 500 educators tied into the conference will watch the students. Fred Kemmerer, call sign AB1OC, in New Hampshire (USA) will serve as the relay ground station. Shane Lynd, call sign VK4KHZ in Australia will be the moderator. Bob Pitman, call sign VK4DA in Australia will distribute live audio via Echolink *HAM*  69556, IRLP 9556, and AllStar 48820 49903.
 
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 24, 2020 at 7:32 pm in Brisbane (09:32 UTC, 5:32 am EDT, 4:32 am CDT, 03:32 am MDT and 02:32 am PDT).
 
This contact is in conjunction with the online i-Educate 2020 Conference sponsored by the Department of Education, Queensland Government in Brisbane, Australia. The purpose of the weeklong conference is for school digital leaders to present interactive solutions in online workshop settings to demonstrate to educators and school staff how to enrich technology-learning outcomes in classrooms and increase STEM availability awareness in schools.    
_____________________________ .
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
 
1. What was the main ambition or reason for going to the ISS in the first place?
2. What was it like see space for the first time?
3. Do you ever have arguments?
4. Did you have any issues (personal, technical) whilst flying up towards the ISS?
5. Was your childhood dream being a pilot and this is the progression, or did you always dream of going into space?
6. What mindset do you need to have to be an astronaut?
7. How did you become interested in being an astronaut?
8. Circa what year do you predict space hotels will be physically possible to achieve? And do you think these space stations are the first steps towards developing said hotels?
9. When you are in space, you orbit the Earth incredibly fast. Because of this, has your perception of time changed since being in space? If so, how is it different?
10. How do you keep personal hygiene up to standards e.g. how you go for a shower/bath, toilet, and shaving?
11. Have you had a life threatening experience on the space station?
12. How does it feel to be isolated in space, knowing there isn’t anyone else around you except yourself and fellow crew mates?
13. During your launch windows there have been several technical delays, how do you deal with the build-up and then let down of your emotions in these events?
14. What will you miss the most about life on the ISS when you return to Earth?
15. You were a Navy Seal, what brought you across to NASA and spaceflight?
16. What is it like going on a spacewalk for the first time?
17. How do you maintain a positive mindset and good mental health in space, for example with the global pandemic of COVID-19 how are you coping with being such a distance away from the people you love and care about?
18. What were your emotions during lift off?
 
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

ARISS News Release                                                                                           No.   20-11      
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY
 
August 17, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).
 
This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center in Vestal, NY and ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR. Kopernik’s amateur radio station K2ZRO will serve as the relay ground station for this contact. Students at their homes will be taking turns asking Cassidy their questions.
 
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for August 19, 2020 at 2:21 pm EDT (18:21 pm UTC, 1:21 pm CDT, 12:21 pm MDT and 11:21 am PDT).
The Kopernik Observatory & Science Center is a non-profit informal educational institution that promotes interdisciplinary education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The center offers strong STEM-based summer camp experiences for students between 2nd and 12th grades. Amateur Radio has been integrated into four previous summer camps where middle and high school students designed and built a weather balloon payload with three high-definition video cameras and temperature monitoring instrumentation along with an amateur radio APRS tracking system. The payloads were successfully recovered and allowed the students to examine recorded videos along with temperature data and tracking history.
 
ARISS invites the public to view the livestream of the upcoming ARISS radio contact and to watch pre-programming 20 minutes beforehand; the livestream is at:
https://youtu.be/1Pwcc2rilz0    
_____________________________ .
 
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
 
1. Are there any germs in space?
2. Could you see the launch of Perseverance or fireworks from the ISS?
3. Do astronauts carry smartphones with them in the ISS?
4. What sort of people work with astronauts?
5. What is the temperature like in the space station and outside?
6. How long have you been on the ISS?
7. Becoming an astronaut is an amazing life goal and accomplishment. What do you think you are going to do next?
8. If the ISS is traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour, it would seem very hard for ships to dock with it. It’s hard enough to hit a ping pong ball going 10 mph! How do scientists and astronauts plan and execute these dockings?
9. Do astronauts work on experiments from scientists from different countries?
10. What are your views of Earth from the space station? What else do you see when you look out?
11. How do you do liquid science experiments when you are working in space?
12. What happens when you have to sneeze while on a spacewalk?
13. Do you have seats that you sit in and how do you stay in it?
14. How do you chose what experiments you do?
15. Kopernik is in Upstate New York. Did Doug Hurley tell you lots about our area?
16. What do astronauts do in their free time?
17. How long did you have to train to become an astronaut?
18. If there is one, what does sunset look like in space?
19. When did you get interested in space?
20. Who inspired you to be an astronaut?  What qualities did they demonstrate that you most admire? 
21. I’m interested in growing plants in space. Have astronauts found that certain plants are easier to grow in zero gravity environments? If so, which ones? And why do we think some plants are easier to grow than others?
22. Do the different countries that go to the ISS have a spot just for them in different areas? 
23. What is your most important job aboard the space station?
24. What do you do if you get sick?
 
 
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS).  In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
 
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
                                                                              
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.