The following news item provides information about tomorrow’s ARISS contact on Saturday, November 24:
An Amateur Radio International Space Station (ARISS) school contact has been planned for tomorrow, Saturday, November 24 with participants at IMP Aerospace & Defence in Goffs, Nova Scotia. The IMP Company makes the Robotic Arms for the International Space Station (ISS) and also made them for the Space Shuttles.
The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:05 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD and the scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor, KG5TMT. The contact should be audible over Italy and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Watch for live simulcast at http://www.ariotti.com (starting about 10 to 15 minutes before AOS) and on YouTube at https://youtu.be/FtU9oQigifo
Dr. Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor began working with NASA as a Flight Surgeon in 2006. In 2009, she was selected as a NASA astronaut. During her NASA career, Dr. Auñón-Chancellor spent more than nine months in Russia supporting medical operations for International Space Station crew members in Star City. She also served as Deputy Crew Surgeon for STS-127 and is board certified in both Internal and Aerospace Medicine. She is currently a part of the Expedition 56/57 crew that launched to the International Space Station in June 2018.
IMP Aerospace & Defence
Despite the disappointment of having to cancel a previously planned ARISS in late September during Family Day activities at IMP, preparations for this next opportunity to speak with Serena are in full swing. The original participants who were selected from a pool of applications received from our IMP Aerospace and Avionics facilities are prepared and looking forward to taking part in this very unique opportunity. During the delay the youngsters were able to do additional research on station life and experiments which has resulted in some interesting questions that we hope Serena will enjoy. As an ARISS Mentor it’s very encouraging to see the level of interest from the entire group including parents.
As a contractor IMP Aerospace has a long history in the manufacture of space-rated avionics components. This includes portions of STS Canadarm and the ISS Canadarm2 as well as numerous satellite and planetary rovers. The original contact was planned to take place in one of our maintenance hangars at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, however with this new opportunity we have moved the venue to the Keshan Goodman Branch of the Halifax Public Library System. This been the site of previous ARISS contacts and always draws a lot of attention. This location allows us to invite media as well as the general public to observe and share in the inspiration this contact has to offer.
In addition to the usual pre-contact activities a presentation from the Halifax Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will focus on space-based astronomy as well as specific instructions on how to identify visible ISS passes. The contact will also have a potential for global viewing as it will be simulcast from not only the library location but from the ground station located at IK1SLD in Northern Italy.
Questions to be asked
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1) What happens when you sneeze in space?
2) What kind of physical training do you have to go through before going into space?
3) Do you believe signs of life, past or present, will be found in our Solar System?
4) What is the coolest thing you’ve seen from the Space Station?
5) How do you handle medical issues in space especially if they are life-threatening?
6) What’s it like to be an astronaut?
7) What does it smell like inside the ISS?
8) Is any food grown on the Space Station?
9) How do you do laundry on the ISS?
10) How does your spacesuit stay warm?
11) In order to maintain altitude or avoid orbital debris a reboost or avoidance maneuver is performed. Can you feel that taking place inside the ISS?
12) How long did it take for you to adjust to the weightless environment on the ISS?
13) How does life spent on the underwater training laboratory “Aquarius” compare with life on the ISS?
14) Is it noisy or quiet inside the space station?
15) What has been the biggest health concern astronauts have had to deal with?
16) What’s your favourite space meal?
17) How do Astronauts take a shower in space?
18) Does the entire crew gather for meals?
19) What do you do in your spare time for entertainment?
20) How do you know when to go to bed at night?
Background Information:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and other international space agencies and international Amateur Radio organizations around the world. The primary purpose of ARISS is to organize scheduled contacts via Amateur Radio between crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced volunteers from Amateur Radio clubs and coordination from the ARISS team, the ISS crew members speak directly with large group audiences in a variety of public forums such as school assemblies, science centers and museums, Scout camporees, jamborees and space camps, where students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies and Amateur Radio.
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, the Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA and CSA, with the AMSAT and International Amateur Radio Union organizations from participating countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crew members onboard the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, firsthand, how Amateur Radio and crew members on the International Space Station can energize youth and instill an interest in science, technology, and learning.
Additional information is available at:
ARISS main website: http://www.ariss.org/
Upcoming Contacts: http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html
NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/serena-m-aunon-chancellor/biography