International Space Station Amateur Radio (ARISS) has received confirmation of the timing of ARISS radio contact between astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at Old St. Mary’s School in Chicago. , Ill.
ARISS conducts 60 to 80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the world and licensed amateur radio crew members aboard the ISS.
Old St. Mary’s School (OSM) (founded in 2004) has approximately 500 students from kindergarten through eighth grade and is located adjacent to the museum campus, which includes the planetarium, natural history museum, and the aquarium. Old St. Mary’s School, which is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago, began a partnership in 2018 with the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Chicago. For the past four years, MSI’s Science Leadership School Partners program has provided support to enhance OSM’s science program by developing partnerships and communication with families and stakeholders, and promoting projects at the school-wide, including this ARISS contact.
In preparation for this contact, students learned a wide range of STEM-related topics that deal with space habitation, our solar system, orbital motions, low-gravity conditions, and properties of radio waves (including RF digital communications). Students participate in a variety of hands-on activities that apply an understanding of science, math, and engineering to various types of model building, as well as field trips to the Challenger Learning Center.
This will be a Telebridge multipoint contact via amateur radio allowing students to ask questions of the astronaut Bob Hinesamateur radio call sign KI5RQT. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to, where applicable, for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and can be heard by listeners within the ISS footprint which also encompasses the telebridge station.
The ARISS amateur radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is located in Aartselaar, Belgium. The team of volunteer radio amateurs at the ground station will use the call sign ON4ISSto establish and maintain the ISS connection.
ARISS radio contact is scheduled for May 31, 2022 at 11:32 a.m. CDT (Chicago, IL) (4:32:31 p.m. UTC, 12:32 p.m. EDT, 10:32 a.m. MDT, 9:32 a.m. PDT).
The public is invited to watch the live broadcast at: https://www.osmschool.com/
If time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. What is it like to take off during the first moments in space?
2. What is the most satisfying or amazing thing you have seen in space?
3. Is it lonely to be in space away from family for so long? How do you manage your emotions?
4. Who is your best friend in the crew?
5. What personal items did you bring to the ISS?
6. What is your favorite activity in space? Do you play board games or video games?
7. What was the hardest day you had in space? Why?
8. What experiments are you working on at the moment?
9. What would you do if someone got hurt or sick in space? Is it different than on Earth?
10. Has anyone baked cookies in space? If so, is it easier or more difficult? Do you have a favorite type of cookie?
11. What is the best meal in space?
12. Why did you want to become an astronaut?
About ARISS:
Amateur radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, the sponsors are the Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), and the Space communications and NASA navigation.
The main objective of ARISS is to promote the exploration of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. ARISS does this by arranging scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents and communities participate in hands-on learning activities related to space, space technologies and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
Media Contact:
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
PR ARISS
Like us on facebook. Follow us on twitter. Research amateur radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.
Check out ARISS on Youtube.com.
