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ARISS Weekly Status Report - February 27, 2023

2/27/2023

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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
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ARISS Weekly Status Report - 2/20/2023

2/20/2023

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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
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ARISS Weekly Status Report - 2/13/2023

2/13/2023

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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


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ARISS Weekly Status Report - February 6, 2023

2/6/2023

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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
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Amateur Radio on the International Space Station is a program that lets students experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station.  Learn More

ARISS appreciates our partners and sponsors:
National Amateur Radio Societies and AMSAT Organizations in Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the USA.


Member of the Space Station Explorers consortium.


Funded in part by the ISS National Lab.
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