February 23: The Istituto Statale di Istruzione Superiore in Empoli, Italy hosted an ARISS radio contact for students with Koichi Wakata; he answered 15 questions. A large crowd of 360 attended the contact event, and the school livestreamed it for over 1,500 other students, parents, and the public who were watching. Media representatives came from TG3 Nazionale, La Nazione, Toscana Radio, Radio Lady, and Orme Radio. The school curriculum features Liceo Scientifico, a 5-year STEM program of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science and provides courses and instruction in lab facilities for applied sciences including computer science. The institute continues to partner with the Italian Radioamateur Association of Empoli.
 
February 24: ARISS educator Diane Warner and a colleague gave a presentation during the STEAM Live session at the Ohio Afterschool Network‘s (OAN) 6th annual Best Foot Forward Conference in Powell, OH. The 83 session participants got the chance to try out STEAM materials that Diane’s group, Afterschool Programs of Lancaster (OH), utilizes with youth: Ozobots, Cubelets, 3D pens and more. Diane discussed the ARISS program and presented a portion of a video showing her group’s 2019 ARISS contact. All 300 OAN conference attendees received a booklet with details about each session, getting an introduction to ARISS. Additionally, Diane created an ARISS information sheet that she emailed to all participants. The statewide organization’s mission is “to promote high-quality afterschool and expanded learning opportunities for children and families.” 
 
March 7: NASA created a video for its social media platforms that tells the story of the ARISS contact on November 22, 2022 hosted by St. Joseph´s Convent Secondary School in Castries, Saint Lucia. The ARISS contact with Josh Cassada allowed students to join in the action from 63 schools in 12 nation states in the Caribbean and Central America. All schools had led educational activities promoted by the Disaster Fighters campaign, an initiative supported by the NASA Earth Science Applied Sciences Disaster program; the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (managed by the World Bank); and other organizations. The video features Cassada talking with students and links to the video at each platform are 
Johnson Space Center YouTube (home of space station content)
ISS Facebook
ISS Research Twitter (amplified by @Space_Station)
ISS Instagram (collab with @NASAEarth)
 
February 25: NASA invited ARISS’ social media leader, Jim Reed to attend a NASA Social Crew 6 launch event at Kennedy Space Center. During NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Social Panel, Jim asked NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and SpaceX Crew 3 NASA Commander Raja Chari if they would comment on their past experiences with SAREX and ARISS school radio contacts. Cabana said, “It allows us [astronauts] to reach a group of students and folks on the ground … it generates interest in science and engineering … that’s really cool!” Chari recognized the ARISS program as a “capstone project for students” and expressed his enjoyment of talking with Japanese students during an ARISS contact, stating it was “definitely a highlight!” He emphasized ARISS as an important backup communication system in case of a regular communication system failure. The URL of the video of the panel session is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJb8YjwOk0 (Jim’s portion is at 14 minutes 15 seconds). In 11 days’ time the video garnered 1.3K views.
 
February 26: At NASA’s Social Media event, ARISS social media leader Jim Reed was asked by the hosts of the YouTube Channel series “Keep Your Daydream” to do an interview.  He talked about ARISS in general and school radio contacts. One of the hosts showed her amazement about the program, saying, “That is the coolest thing ever!”  
 
February 23: ARISS thanks NASA EXPRESS for posting a blurb in its newsletter (going to 58,616 subscribers) about ARISS having opened a new window to accept ARISS Education proposals. NASA EXPRESS shares its information through the NASA Office of STEM Engagement’s social media to 399,720 Twitter followers, 105,093 Facebook flowers, and 495,116 Pinterest followers. The American Radio Relay ran the story in their online news platform for its 107,000 readers.
 
Feb. 21: ARISS leader Dave Taylor spoke via Zoom with members of the Skyview Radio Society in New Kensington, PA. He gave them a brief introduction to ARISS, then described development of the InterOperable Radio System, his part in development of the ARISS radio on the ISS, and what is involved in getting hardware approved to fly on the ISS. There were 29 attendees on Zoom and 26 in person at the clubhouse.
 
March 3-4-5: The ARISS Senior Leader Team traveled to Baltimore, MD or joined via GoToMeeting for a three-day meeting.  The team focus was strategic planning, and started off with a review and critique of the previous strategic plan that covered all aspects of ARISS. Next, the team listed items for the start of a draft of our future goals, talked about our great sponsors, and got an overview from Frank Bauer updating us on commercial space. Day two discussions included long-term goals for education, engineering and operations, back-up communications, and public relations. ARISS’s plans for our 40th anniversary events were further developed.  Day three topics covered thoughts on business development and short and long term sources, and ended with a lengthy discussion on all items raised for the drafted new strategic plan, and ranking these.
 
 
ARISS Social Media 
 
ARISS’ social media leader, Jim Reed reported these major highlights for February 2023:

• surpassed 500,000 Impressions in a single month 
• a Twitter post on the Empoli, Italy ARISS school contact garnered record Engagements—received 103,244 Impressions thanks to Koichi Wakata’s Quote-Tweet
• post volume up 80% month to month due to the Orlando Hamcation convention and NASA Social events related to ARISS

 
February Social Media Top Posts and February Total Metrics and images 
 

• Top Tweet – on upcoming Italian school contact: Impressions 103,244, Interactions / Engagements 375

      *Koichi Wakata quote-tweeted, which resulted in the huge numbers of Impressions!

• Top Facebook Post – on part of ARISS’s display at Hamcation convention: Reaches / Impressions 11,962,  Engagements 495
• Top Instagram Post – on part of ARISS’s display at Hamcation convention: Reach 518,  Interactions / Engagements 55
• Top Mastodon Post – on the radio frequency to use to  listen to the ARISS radio: Interactions 21

 
 
Total Social Media Metrics for February 1-28, 2023:

• ARISS Twitter – Total Impressions / Views 407,563,  Interactions / Engagements 7,876  
• ARISS Facebook – Total Impressions 153,093,  Interactions / Engagements 9,623
• ARISS Instagram – Total Reach 6,947,  Interactions / Engagements 833
• Mastodon – Interactions / Engagements 248
• LinkedIn…being ramped up – Impressions 1,086,  Reactions 46
• ARISS YouTube – Total Subscribers 1.79k

 
 
ARISS Upcoming Events  
Mar 23: Lana’I High & Elementary School, Lana’I HI - ARISS contact, ARISS-US Team                                                                   

February 23: ARISS was honored to receive a request from SCaN to set up and staff a display table about ARISS for the National Space Council’s Users’ Advisory Group meeting at the Marriott in Washington DC.  It was the group’s first public meeting of this administration. Frank Bauer and Kathy Lamont staged the ARISS table in the lobby just outside the meeting room with five others (Challenger Center, Women in Aerospace, NASA SCaN, MAXAR Technologies, and Science Applications International Corporation). 31 committee members and 30 visitors viewed the ARISS table as they walked by; Frank and Kathy engaged at length with 30 of them.  
 
February 14: Students at Gymnasium Christian-Ernestinum (GCE) in Bayreuth, Germany enjoyed an ARISS radio contact with Koichi Wakata; he answered 23 student questions. The event drew 750 audience participants on site and 2,000 students watched the livestream YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH849NyUHM4. And 10 days later, viewer numbers topped 3,800!  A teacher wrote: “In the gym it became dead quiet with the first noise [from Koichi on the ARISS radio]. Everyone was spellbound listening to questions and answers.” During the contact, ARISS volunteer Stefan Dombrowski helped 50 students at The Hague to listen to the Q&A on his ham radio set. GCE students had participated in astronomy, physics, electronics, natural sciences and robotics programs and workshops. One parent thanked the school for all of the lessons teachers prepared, and said her two daughters “…are still really fired up by this and were incredibly excited and proud—and I can tell you even here at [my hospital palliative duties] care unit, some staff members were on the livestream following the action. We had goose bumps.”  GCE partnered with radio club DARC Ortsverband Bayreuth whose members provided students with technical workshops and hands-on radio activities.
 
February 15: Stella Maris College in Gzira, Malta hosted an ARISS contact with Josh Cassada who answered 13 of the students’ questions. The event was livestreamed to the public, and in 8 days’ time viewer count went to 2,400! The Times of Malta captured the event in a news story for the community. The college’s parent institution runs a second school, De La Salle College in Birgu; both colleges had students involved in STEM activities related to the ARISS contact.  The school had partnered with members of the Malta Amateur Radio League that provided hands-on radio communications lessons to students, such as tracking radio satellites and talking to other ham operators through these satellites. Other groups offering educational activities to students included University of Malta, Malta College for Science and Technology, Malta Council for Science and Technology, and Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology.
 
February 22: Details will be covered in next week’s report on the ARISS contact hosted at Istituto Statale di Istruzione Superiore Il Pontormo in Empoli, Italy. Students had prepared for it by engaging in lectures and projects such as an astrophysics seminar with presenter John Robert Brucato from the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory in Florence who discussed looking for signs of life beyond Earth.
 
ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
 Mar 7: Jumeirah College Dubai, Dubai, UAE - ARISS contact, ARISS-Europe Team

February 9–11: The annual Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) at Space Center Houston (TX) had six ARISS team members engaging teachers and youth at the ARISS table and two forums.  They handed out ARISS flyers, and answered questions about ARISS radio contacts and ARISS education programs, letting teachers try out some of the programs’ teaching tools. On day 2, ARISS educator Joanne Michael said, “We had 75 teachers engaged during my booth time and hundreds of students came by.”  Booth staff included Gina Kwid, Joanne, Dan Vasen, and ARISS team member Kenneth Ransom. They spoke to over 400 educators and 200 students and Melissa Pore at the CASIS table answered questions about ARISS and classroom STEM projects. Gina presented two forums that directly tied to ARISS. “Space Science Exploration Using STEM Tools” garnered 25 listeners, and the second forum, “Talk with an Astronaut via an ARISS Contact,” co-led by Beth Bivens, had 26 listeners. Melissa Pore gave three forums that included information about ARISS.
 
February 10-12: Eleven ARISS team members traveled to the Orlando (FL) HamCation, the 2nd largest gathering in the U.S. of ham operators, typically drawing 20,000 radio enthusiasts from around the world. The ARISS booth staff engaged with over 600 attendees; some were educators, some were youth, and all ages of people stopped by. The exhibit featured ARISS hardware, flyers about ARISS school contacts, and information and items from ARISS’ hands-on education programs being developed to spark student interest in STEM. The displayed program items allowed students and teachers to try out the ARISS education tools. ARISS held a forum, which was a panel session presenting current and future ARISS initiatives—hardware and education programs--to 56 listeners. Afterwards, many stopped by the booth to ask a lot of questions and commented happily that ARISS was developing wonderful STEM education opportunities of all types. One of the booth staff, new ARISS team member Diana Schuler, now the ARISS STEREO program manager (Student and Teacher Education via Radio Experimentation and Operations), got a good understanding of things people want to know about STEREO.
 
February 5: In the village of Dinskaya, in the Dinsky district in Russia, students from the Secondary School No. 2 named after A.V. Suvorov with the Center for Children's Creativity took part in About Gagarin from Space lessons and carried out an ARISS contact. Mission Control Center-Moscow scheduled the contact and 20 students and teachers spoke with Anna Kikina.
 
February 8: Students at Colegio Diocesano Santa María Nuestra Señora in Écija, Spain took part in an ARISS contact with Josh Cassada who answered 16 student questions with an audience of 200.  Area schools that had engaged students in ARISS STEM activities, also, watched the livestream—10 Diocese schools and 9 public schools.  Media reps covering the event came from national TV1, regional Canal Sur TV, local TVC Écija Comarca TV, a press agency, and two online news services; the three TV stations claimed over 250,000 viewers. The school’s livestream garnered 900 views and after 6 days, the YouTube totaled 1,600; it is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nYFP7qzUtk.  The ARISS ground station in Italy livestreamed their action, too, with 318 views.  In preparing for the contact, students ages 3-16 researched space exploration, created models of planets, received radio communications instruction from the national Union of Spanish Radio Amateurs, and engaged in ESA/European Space Education Resource Office projects.
 
February 13: Youth from the GBOU secondary school No. 547 of the Krasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg, Russia engaged in lessons from the About Gagarin from Space initiative and then took part in an ARISS contact. During the event, which was supported by ARISS-Russia, 25 students spoke with crew member Sergey Prokopyev.
 
February 4: Students of Aznakayevo in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia participated in an ARISS radio contact under the About Gagarin from Space program. The contact allowed children of limited capabilities to be engaged, also. The youth contacted Dimitri Petelin.

ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
Feb. 23: Istituto Statale di Istruzione Superiore, Empoli, Italy-ARISS contact, ARISS-Europe Team

January 30: Norwich Free Academy (NFA) in Norwich, CT hosted an ARISS contact for students with Josh Cassada. He answered 18 questions with a listening crowd of 1,200. The contact was livestreamed to the public at https://youtu.be/pTkaCtam8m0.  NFA’s Facebook and Twitter platforms offered the video, as well. Media reporters represented Fox TV News, Norwich Bulletin, and The Day.com. Fox ran 2 postings—a story with video, and just the video with a caption; Yahoo.com picked up The Day’s story. See https://news.yahoo.com/nfa-students-talk-astronaut-aboard-045900164.html. The faculty developed lessons on astrophysics; how gravitational differences affect gene expression/epigenetics, microbes, and pathogens; and whether a crew’s stay on the ISS impacts immunity upon returning home. Youth studied ISS research projects and the systems that keep astronauts healthy onboard. NFA Amateur Radio & Engineering Club students assembled an amateur radio ground station allowing youth to learn about amateur radio satellites and to use it for the ARISS contact; several students studied for and earned their ham radio licenses. Prior to the contact, students created a video describing their prep for the contact and facets about their ham radio station, and how students could submit questions that if chosen, allowed the youth to ask Cassada their question. The club advisor hopes to get a radio telescope installed as the club’s next big project. The Bulletin’s story reported students’ reactions. “Clark Dziavit, an NFA freshman member, said, ‘All of the students—we’ve done the research, it’s really a team effort.’ He and junior Julia Sujecki were intrigued and nervous about talking to Cassada. Both are enthusiastic newer members of the ham radio and engineering club. She said, ‘You get to learn Morse code … and learn how to build a robot. I’m very excited and I’d like to learn more about space and becoming an astronaut.’”  
 
February 3: ARISS educator Micol Ivancic in Italy entered a contest tied to the Minerva Mission carried out by Samantha Cristoforetti. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA) sponsored the competition, which asked educators to submit educational projects they used in class. After reviewing her project, the ASI Education Office, ESA Education Office, and European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) sent a congratulatory letter to Micol as one of the winners. The letter said, “The work was highly appreciated for its educational value, for the quality of the proposed pathway, and for its ability to engage male and female students in space-themed STEM disciplines in a new, inclusive, and active way.” Micol will receive an autographed certificate from Cristoforetti and has the possibility of meeting the astronaut—a dream Micol “has had for a long time.”
 
February 7: Students from Ridgeline High School and Sky View High School, part of the Cache County School District that include Millville, UT engaged in an ARISS contact with Josh Cassada. 86 people watched at the contact site, Ridgeline High School, as he answered 16 of the students’ questions. Reporters from two radio stations and one newspaper covered the event. All 25 district schools could access the school’s livestream.  297 viewers watched a public live stream and three social media platforms continue to offer the recording. The ARISS YouTube URL is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxm5Ca2y0HD_NxXlZWXv11A and within three days’ time it garnered 1,100 viewers. Youth had studied recent space explorations, spacecraft, satellites, and Artemis. 150 students from both high schools attended the district’s 12-week high school astronomy course. The Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club introduced students to amateur radio and led them in on-the-air amateur radio activities—making radio satellite contacts and trying hidden transmitter hunts.  The Herald Journal (HJ) quoted the lead ARISS educator, Emma Smith, affectionately nicknamed “Super Smith” by students. “’It’s amazing that this happened—I just can’t get over it.’  Smith said making contact with the ISS was a childhood dream.” The district web site carried a number of ARISS stories and provided a podcast prior to the contact.
 
January 31: In its 2022 annual report, The ISS National Lab recognized just 5 of its 25 partner programs under the umbrella of Space Station Explorers.  ARISS was one of the five! The recognition cited ARISS having touched so many youth, educators, and the community through ARISS volunteers’ work in allowing students a once-in-a- lifetime experience to talk with an astronaut on the ISS. The report is at https://www.issnationallab.org/ar2022/?utm_source=edm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ar&utm_content=2022  (click on section titled “Educational Outreach and Engagement.”

ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
Feb 13:  Youth in School No. 547, St. Petersburg, Russia-ARISS contact, ARISS Russia Team
Feb 14:  Gymnasium Christian-Ernestinum, Bayreuth, Germany-ARISS contact, ARISS-Europe Team
Feb 15: Stella Maris College, Gzira, Malta-ARISS contact, ARISS-Europe Team

January 26: After months of space and amateur radio lessons, students at Brentwood Elementary School of Engineering in Raleigh, NC got the opportunity to speak with Koichi Wakata who answered 20 questions.  Youth chosen to ask their questions earned the title from the school of Student Space Ambassador.  Those selected to escort visitors got the title “Student Event Ambassadors,” and the school band performed. 200 people attended, 2,623 watched the school’s two livestreams, and 1,102 watched a recording. Anne Weiss of the NASA Office of STEM Engagement, Langley Research Center, described various NASA careers to students. ARRL NC Liaison Chuck DeCourt presented an achievement plaque to the school and spoke about communications-related careers. JPL Solar System Ambassador Tony Rice gave a STEM talk and later posted Brentwood photos on Twitter, garnering 255 views.  The ARISS contact generated 18 media hits including a rolling ticker on the bottom of the screen of CBS 6 AM Good Morning America announcing "Students at Raleigh's Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering to speak with astronauts aboard International Space Station."  CBS-17 wrote this: “Fifth-grader Timothy Gaetz learned a lot about life in space for astronauts. ‘You get to use robotics, and you do science experiments and you get to stay up there for about a year or so,’ Gaetz said.”  Raleigh’s The News Observer story ran this quote:  “’It’s really, really special,’ said Mae Ryals, 8, a third-grader who was chosen to ask questions. ‘My teacher said this was like a once in a million years chance. It was just amazing that I got picked for this.’” An ABC-TV video and story is at
https://abc11.com/amateur-radio-iss-international-space-station-brentwood-magnet-elementary-school/12738641/.
 
January 27: For the 2023 Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) scheduled on February 9–11 at Space Center Houston, TX, five educators from the ARISS-US Education Committee will support ARISS activities.  They’ll present ARISS’ Student and Teacher Education via Radio Experimentation & Operations (STEREO) and its Teaching the Teacher activity, leading STEM-related forums and staffing an ARISS booth. The booth will offer teachers hands-on experiences with ARISS teaching tools including the STEREO/SPARKI Radio Kit.
 
January 20-21: ARISS Director of Engineering Randy Berger presented ARISS programs during both days at the Cowtown Hamfest in Forest Hills, TX. The first covered ARISS’ current projects along with future initiatives. The second forum introduced listeners to ARISS and explained how to determine ISS pass times and how to listen for ARISS activities tied to the amateur radio station on board. He described future ARISS educational and technological endeavors. Randy reported about 30 attending the forums and that he spoke with 100 people who came by the ARISS exhibit table. On day 2 they packed the booth, attracted to “…the sounds my hand-held ham radio transmitted when sending Slow Scan TV (picture links) and the tones from my CubeSat model sending telemetry to my cell phone to decode. It became a game for folks pulling out their phones and iPads…” [to decode the images and telemetry].
 
 
 
ARISS Social Media 
 
ARISS’ social media leader, Jim Reed set up ARISS on Mastodon and began regularly posting in January for a total of 22.  He began plans to revive ARISS’ LinkedIn platform.
 
January Social Media Top Posts and January Total Metrics and images  
 

• Top Tweet – on upcoming school contact: Impressions 67,043, Interactions/Engagements 236; *Koichi Wakata quote-tweeted it, thanking the school, which launched us to such a high interaction number, the highest for a single ARISS post in the last 4 months!
  
• Top Facebook Post – on upcoming school contact: Reaches/Impressions 5,743,  Engagements 158
  
• Top Instagram Post – on changing our user name: Reach 255,  Interactions/Engagements 38
  
• Top Mastodon Post – on thanking followers—earning 500 in our 1st month of posting!   Interactions 22
  

 
 
Total Social Media Metrics for the month, January 1-31 2023:

• ARISS Twitter - Total Impressions/Views 170,752,  Interactions/Engagements 3,355  
• ARISS Facebook - Total Impressions 60,609,  Interactions/Engagements 2,075
• ARISS Instagram - Total Reach 2,725,  Interactions/Engagements 361
• Mastodon -     Interactions/Engagements 99
• ARISS YouTube - Total Subscribers 1.75k
  

ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
Feb 7: Cache County School District, Millville, UT - ARISS Contact, ARISS-US Team

January 19: Following months of prep and working through a curriculum concentrated on space and communications, Escola Secundária de Lagoa students at Lagoa in the Azores (autonomous region of Portugal) took part in a successful ARISS radio contact with Josh Cassada. He answered 16 of their questions. The school livestreamed the event to the public at https://youtu.be/R2Rd5Eku5lA; 6 days after the ARISS contact, viewers totaled 595. The ARISS telebridge radio station in Italy offered a livestream too, and within a week garnered 243 viewers. Reporters at the event consisted of two national TV stations, two national radio stations, two area radio stations, and two newspapers. As of now, six online outlets carried reports. A student quoted by the newspaper Correio dos Azores, said, “It was a fantastic experience and of course we would not have done it without the help of our teachers, our colleagues. This is an experience of a lifetime." A 12th grader quoted by the same news outlet, commented, “Talking to an astronaut who is in space does not seem real. It's hard to believe, but it was possible and we were able to accomplish it with work and dedication."
 
January 17: ARISS educator Micol Ivanci spoke virtually with two classes at Colegio Diocesano Santa María Nuestra Señora in Écija, Spain. Her presentation covered facts about the ISS and crew-carrying space vehicles and she described ARISS ham radio ground stations and how one will facilitate their school’s ARISS contact in mid-February.  50 students and a group of teachers attended Mic’s session. The school takes part in Europe’s Erasmus activities. At a news conference the school set up regarding the ARISS contact, administrators thanked ARISS, ESA, and NASA for the opportunity to host the ARISS contact. They also thanked the Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles (Spain’s national association of radio amateurs) for technical assistance, Edelvives (a publishing firm focused on STEM) for pedagogical innovation, and the Écija City Council for its help.  
 
January 24: An ARISS contact hosted by the MBU DO Center for Children's Technical Creativity, "Young Motorist" took place in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Mission Control Center-Moscow scheduled the event and 14 students talked with crew member Dimitri Petelin. The ARISS-Russia team supported the contact and led students in the About Gagarin in Space lesson series. 
 
January 4: ARISS-USA Education Director Kathy Lamont and ARISS Technical Mentor Fred Kemmerer hosted an ARISS Orientation Webinar; 20 people attended. This online development activity gave an assist to schools and education organizations recently selected for ARISS radio contacts to be scheduled in the future.  Educators from those selected groups took part in the webinar as did representatives of their area amateur radio clubs who will help the educators. Listeners heard a review of what is expected of them and got their questions answered. 
 
ARISS Upcoming Events
 Feb. 4:  Youth in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia-ARISS contact, ARISS-Russia Team                                                                     

January 17: The ARISS Team received a report on Montross (VA) Middle School students who enjoyed exciting preparations for their ARISS contact targeted for mid-April. The school’s science curriculum provides students with lessons on sound waves, our solar system, and aspects of the ISS, among other things.  Last semester the school sponsored a science fair with activities and exhibits for students and parents. Engineers from the Dahlgren Naval Surface Weapons Lab put on physical science demos such as what happens when freezing flowers down to -320 degrees Fahrenheit using liquid nitrogen and what generates static electricity. Deputy Superintendent Director Carole Alexander (a ham operator) exhibited her portable “Go-Kit” ham station and she reported, “Students were very interested!”  Last fall, Westmoreland Amateur Radio Club members taught students how to make amateur radio contacts so the school amateur radio group could compete in a bi-annual activity sponsored by the American Radio Relay League for US school ham clubs. Students learned many things about radio and radio operation during the event and made a lot of radio contacts, including one with an overseas group. The youths’ communications successes garnered their group 10th place among middle school clubs nationwide. 
 
January 18: Girls and boys in the Norwich (CT) Free Academy Amateur Radio and Engineering Club created a YouTube video as part of the preparation for the school’s upcoming ARISS radio contact. The two-minute video tied to the ARISS project features a number of students expounding on the ARISS contact, some of the club’s STEM activities, facts about the ISS and its focus, showing the school’s ham radio station, and more.  One goal the youth met by making and posting the video was to explain to the entire student body how to submit questions for the ARISS contact and why. Their ARISS contact happens on January 30.  330 viewers saw the YouTube video as of Monday; the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJyGFWfzupk.

ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
Jan 24:  Youth at Nizhny Novgorod, Russia-ARISS contact, ARISS-Russia Team
Jan 26:  Brentwood Elementary Sch of Engrg, Raleigh, NC-ARISS contact, ARISS-US Team
Jan 30:  Norwich Free Academy, Norwich, CT-ARISS contact, ARISS-US Team

January 3: ARISS educator Diane Warner and a teacher colleague received approval to present a class session to educators who’ll attend the Ohio Afterschool Network annual conference to be held in Powell, OH. The two plan to describe a variety of STEM curriculum that has been used in their after-school program at Tallmadge Community Learning Center in Lancaster OH. Listeners will learn about using Ozobots (small robots designed to introduce students to coding), Snap Circuits, Squishy Circuits, and more. Diane will describe a 2019 ARISS radio contact the Tallmadge center had hosted and STEM activities teachers led to help students prepare for their ARISS contact. Attendees will also hear how a learning center can write and submit an ARISS Education Proposal that could garner an ARISS contact.
 
January: ARISS leaders and educators have been mapping out what 2023 education conferences and outreach events to exhibit at and what forums the educators might propose to the conference committees. Some ARISS educators already have received acceptance for their proposed presentations.

ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
Jan 19: Escola Secundária de Lagoa, Lagoa, Azores, ARISS-Europe Team

Late December:  Last fall, the faculty at Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering in Raleigh, NC developed engineering challenges for the semester that tied into the school’s upcoming ARISS contact.  The 412 students focused on engineering related to space exploration and here are examples. Students experienced the engineering/design process as they created and tested prototypes of model rockets and designed parachutes to help the rockets land safely. ARISS Education Ambassador Martha Muir reported that the school’s STEM coordinator described this challenge: during the week of the Balloons Over Brentwood parade, students set up a mini-parade route in the gym, making boxes representing buildings and creating mini-floats that they attached to dash dot robots. Youth learned coding that would guide these robots in navigating the route. Also, third graders enjoyed a field trip to a planetarium “to learn about space and about where astronauts have trained.”
 
January 5: ARISS volunteer Jim Reed reported increased social media metrics in Q1FY23 for October through December.   He stated:  “ARISS social media grew by more than 1,200 followers (4.6%) over the previous quarter and generated close to 500,000 impressions of ARISS content, nearly a 5X increase.”
  
December 31: ARISS Director of Engineering Randy Berger built a multi-functional demo unit he refers to as an ARISS CubeSat. This educational demo item can be placed on ARISS exhibit tables at conferences and ham radio public events to aid ARISS volunteers in describing ARISS communications modes. The unit can be utilized for educational instruction in the classroom, too, to demonstrate multiple communication types, including ARISS Slow Scan TV.
 
ARISS Social Media
 
December's Top Posts and December’s total metrics are below. 
 
Top December 2022 Social Media Posts

• Top Tweet: (Impressions 17,188,  Interactions / Engagements 782)
• Top Facebook Post: (Reaches, Impressions 10,956,  Engagements 511)
• Top Instagram Post: (Reach 256,   Interactions / Engagements 54)

 
 
Total December 1-31 2022 Metrics on Social Media Platforms:

• ARISS Twitter - Total Impressions/Views 125,536,  Interactions/Engagements 4,167  
• ARISS Facebook - Total Impressions 84,826,  Interactions/Engagements 4,962
• ARISS Instagram - Total Reach 401,  Interactions/Engagements 277
• ARISS YouTube - Total Subscribers 1.73k

 
 
ARISS Upcoming Events  
Jan 18: Escola Secundária de Lagoa, Lagoa, Azores,
ARISS-Europe Team                                                                   

December 8: Youth enrolled in Junior School Leidschenveen (JSL), part of The British School (BSN) in The Hague, Netherlands spoke to Josh Cassada during their ARISS radio contact; he answered 16 questions. The girls and boys were thrilled and he took particular care to speak slowly and clearly to the youngest ones. BSN offered the livestream to all 5 of The British School campuses (2,400 students); the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLngfbL6h6s.  Other ham operators streamed the audio and some space images (562 views). The BSN CEO said, "I can't think of a more exciting opportunity for a young person than being able to talk live to an astronaut on the International Space Station! Events like this can help spark a lifelong love of learning in our students."  All 470 JSL students explored STEM through the “JSL in Space” curriculum. Older students researched technology law and space rubbish among other things, and enjoyed a satellite engineer’s presentation on ESA’s current projects.  Younger students liked their field trip to Space Expo and researched the solar system and Andre Kuipers’ missions.
 
December 15: ARISS engineer Kerry Banke completed a series of NASA flight recertification and integration tests of the ARISS HamTV video unit with Johnson Space Center (JSC) test engineers.  Results were good, including the RF Spectrum Analysis process that was performed. The next day, Banke and ARISS team member Kenneth Ransom tested the HamTV set-up with the ARISS camera and then a newer HDMI camera, interface, and an ID generator/HDMI converter.   
 
Last fall Kayser-Italia (K-I), the original manufacturer (in Italy) of the HamTV box, had repaired the unit after its in-flight failure. K-I shipped it to JSC, whose staff sent it in November to Banke. For several weeks he performed testing and verification of the unit in his professional lab at his home before flying with the unit to JSC.  Now, next steps are to find a launch and determine the final plan to get HamTV video operational once again on the ISS.
 
December 9: ARISS Educator Melissa Pore spoke to teachers and students from 30 states at the You Belong in STEM National Coordinating Conference in Washington DC.  She talked about STEM educational opportunities such as ARISS, NASA STEM, and ISS National Lab’s Space Station Explorers.  The conference was hosted by the US Department of Education as a key initiative for the Biden-Harris Administration. 
 
December 16: Maitland Air Cadet Association located in Goderich, ON, Canada supported their cadet squadron in hosting an ARISS contact with Josh Cassada, who answered 21 questions. The Royal Air Cadet Squadron website offered the livestream as did two other groups. Students from nearby St. Mary’s School attended the event. The squadron training officer, quoted in the Goderich Signal Star, said: “After the completion of the event, the squadron will set up a permanent radio training station for cadets to enjoy radio communications and [on the air] contests.”  The article is at https://www.goderichsignalstar.com/news/goderich-air-cadets-speak-with-astronaut-aboard-the-international-space-station.  Cadets’ lessons prior to the ARISS contact included designing VHF radio antennas, learning to track the ISS, and lessons tied to earning a ham radio license.
 
Dec 3:  ARISS Educator Charamie Dunlop gave a presentation on ARISS at an annual banquet in Orlando, FL of the First Class Operators. She talked about her school's ARISS contact and the STEM activities her students had engaged in. She told one specific story on an unexpected long-term impact of the ARISS contact, which brought a few individuals in the audience to tears and earned her a standing ovation.  At the social time after the banquet, many people found Charamie to ask about ARISS and compliment her on the talk, and a few wanted advice on how to reach out to their communities’ schools
 
December 3: ARISS Educator Melissa Pore gave a presentation at the quarterly meeting of the leaders of the Virginia state Air & Space Forces (AFA). At the meeting, held in Reston, VA, she described current STEM opportunities, including ARISS, to 31 of the AFA leaders attending. 
 
December 10: A successful ARISS contact was supported by Sergey Prokopyev and held for students at Dubenskaya Secondary School in Dubenki Village, Republic of Mordovia, Russia.  ARISS-Russia volunteers presented a talk at the event and helped with the radio contact, which was scheduled by Mission Control Center-Moscow. Students had engaged in a series of lessons called “About Gagarin from Space.” 
 
November 3: ARISS Educator Melissa Pore helped staff an exhibit table set up by AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) for an awards event, Aviation Week Network’s Laureates. Attendees included college students, mentors, and aviation and space industry people. Those stopping at the AIAA table heard about ARISS and other NASA STEM activities.  Melissa had helped mentor a young lady who was honored as one of Aviation Week’s “20 Twenties.”
 
December 28:  @ISS_Research posted on Twitter its 2022 Highlights video touting the “Best Space Station Science Imagery of 2022.”  The video included an image of Kjell Lindgren at the ARISS radio on the ISS. The accompanying description mentioned his accomplishment of contacting ham radio operators in all seven continents during his stay on the ISS. The post is at https://twitter.com/ISS_Research/status/1608151284682731520?s=20.  Within four days’ time, the Tweet’s video had collected 80.9K views and the Tweet itself garnered 367.5K views.  ARISS thanks the @ISS_Research team.
 
December 28: ISS National Lab staff posted a photo story on its website about best scientific experiments performed on the ISS in 2022.  The second photo featured Kjell Lindgren operating the ARISS ham radio station on the ISS. ARISS thanks the ISS National Lab staff for this post.  The web page is https://www.issnationallab.org/iss360/2022-issnationallab-science-highlights/?utm_source=edm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pe&utm_content=2022
 
 
ARISS Upcoming Events                                                                       
 TBD