Upcoming Contact: YOTA Camp 2024 at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 9
Date: July 9, 2024 | Time: 12:06:38 pm/am ADT (Nova Scotia) (15:06:38 UTC, 11:06 am EDT, 10:06 am CDT, 9:06 am MDT, 8:06 am PDT).
Watch the ARISS Contact live via Youth On The Air – YouTube
ARISS News Release
July 5, 2024 –
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and youths at the Youth On the Air 2024 camp located in Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia, Canada.
ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special Amateur Radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with Amateur Radio licenses aboard the International Space Station.
Youth on the Air (YOTA) Summer Camp is a week-long event for young Amateur Radio operators ages 15 to 25 from North, Central, and South America, as well as other parts of the world. This year’s YOTA, (July 7-12, 2024) is their fourth year of operation, providing young Amateur Radio operators a camping experience in Halifax.
While at camp, these young Amateurs are also gaining experience operating on high frequency Amateur Radio bands from portable and permanent stations, learning how to log their contacts, exploring software defined radio, launching pico balloons, exploring Morse Code, learning electronics from kits, learning antenna theory and building antennas, participating in Amateur Radio foxhunts, and communicating through Amateur Radio satellites.
YOTA is working in tandem with Mount Saint Vincent University and the Halifax Amateur Radio Club and have provided peer led workshops on Amateur satellite communication prior to this ARISS contact.
This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Jeanette Epps, KF5QNU. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the telebridge station.
The ARISS Amateur Radio ground station (telebridge station) for this contact is in Paardekraal, South Africa. The volunteer team at the ground station will use the call sign ZS6JON to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for July 9, 2024 at 12:06:38 pm/am ADT (Nova Scotia, CAN) (15:06:38 UTC, 11:06 am EDT, 10:06 am CDT, 9:06 am MDT, 8:06 am PDT).
For more information about the ARISS Program visit:
ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station – Radio Amateurs of Canada (rac.ca)
Questions:
As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. Can you describe the view of Earth from your perspective?
2. What new technologies are being tested on the ISS that could be crucial for future space missions or have applications on Earth.
3. How different is it to operate a radio in space than on Earth?
4. What college degrees do you recommend for becoming an astronaut?
5. Are solar events like the northern lights visible and how do you study them from up there?
6. Will you keep doing Amateur Radio activity after your mission?
7. What’s your favourite tool onboard the ISS?
8. How does space affect propagation?
9. How much does your space suit weigh?
10. How has your mindset and view of the world changed since going to space?
11. How often do you do Amateur Radio on the ISS?
12. If you were to take one thing special to you to the ISS, what would it be?
13. Have you talked to many countries from the ISS using Amateur Radio?
14. What are you doing on the ISS to prepare for putting people on the moon?
15. What studies have been done of the Earth’s surface from up there?
16. Do you think Amateur Radio in space has a chance to expand to the moon?
17. If you could add a new module to the ISS, what would it contain?
18. Do you feel that being an Amateur Radio operator has helped you while being on the ISS?
19. What experiment have you carried out aboard the ISS that you’ve liked the most?
20. What do you do when you get a runny nose in space?
21. What is the best part of being on the ISS?
For more information on YOTA Camp 2024 please visit:
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 including Radio Amateurs of Canada.
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.
ARISS’s mandate aligns perfectly with the educational objectives of this event, as it seeks to spark interest in radio science technology and encourage students to explore STEM fields through hands-on experiences like this one.
Further information on the ARISS program is available in the video provided below and on the ARISS webpage.
Previous Contacts:
2024:
- St John’s School Authority in St John’s, Newfoundland on March 27, 2024
2023:
- Youth On The Air (YOTA) Camp in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 18, 2023
2022:
- Maitland Air Cadet Squadron located in Goderich, Ontario on December 16, 2022.
2020:
- Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario: January 22
- Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, Alberta: May 15
2019:
- Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, Ontario: January 23
- College Park School, Lloydminster, Alberta: February 13
- North Point School for Boys, Calgary, Alberta: March 20
- Ulluriaq School, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec: March 28
- 58th Hamilton Scout Group, Stoney Creek, Ontario: April 6
- Shaftesbury High School, Winnipeg, Manitoba: April 10
- École internationale de Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, Quebec: April 17
- Mildred Hall School in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: May 27
- Walter Murray Collegiate Institute in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: May 27
Successful ARISS Multi-Point Contact: Friday, May 15, 2020
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program conducted a successful test of its distance-learning ARISS radio contacts with astronauts on the morning of Friday, May 15.
Youth members of the Airdrie Space Science Club (ASSC) in Airdrie, Alberta were able to engage in a Q&A session with US astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
You can view a video the successful contact on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/2mflSlShPHA
The event featured an overview of the ARISS program complete with two videos describing the efforts here on Earth and in space required to make the contacts. Thankfully, this was then followed by a very successful contact with the ISS and Q&A.
For more information please visit:
ARISS contact with the Airdrie Space Science Club in Alberta: Friday, May 15
Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio
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 centres and museums, Scout camporees, jamborees and space camps, where students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies and Amateur Radio.
On April 28, 2020 in response to the global pandemic, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) announced a new concept called Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio, allowing school contacts for Stay-At-Home students and simultaneous reception by families, school faculty and the public.
“During the last several weeks, efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus have resulted in massive school closures worldwide. In addition, the Stay-At-Home policies invoked by authorities, initially shut down opportunities for ARISS school contacts for the near future.
To circumvent these challenges and keep students and the public safe, ARISS is introducing the Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio concept.
During this event, an ARISS telebridge radio ground station will link to the astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) Amateur Radio station and each Stay-At-Home student and their teacher will be individually linked to the telebridge station. Under the teacher’s direction, each student, from their home, takes a turn asking their question of the astronaut.”
ARISS Chair Frank Bauer said:
“This approach is a huge pivot for ARISS, but we feel it is a great strategic move for ARISS. In these times of isolation due to the virus, these ARISS connections provide a fantastic psychological boost to students, families, educators and the public. And they continue our long-standing efforts to inspire, engage and educate student in STEAM subjects and encourage them to pursue STEAM careers.”
The Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio concept requires three things:
- the ARISS telebridge radio ground station – a satellite Amateur Radio station with special equipment that an ARISS team member uses for teleconferencing
- the astronaut on the International Space Station using the ARISS Amateur Radio station
- students at their homes here on Earth
The telebridge radio operator links to the astronaut at the ARISS radio mic, and each youth then connects from home via their telephones. Their families can listen along with school faculty and the public from home.
Mission “Perspective” and ARISS
On December 3, 2018, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques, KG5FYI, who is originally from Quebec City, travelled to space on his first mission “Perspective.”
He spent about six and a half months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where he conducted science experiments, operated Canadarm2 and tested new technologies.
Complete information about his mission is available online at the following link: Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques’ mission
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.
ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station, inspiring them to pursue interests in careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and engaging them with radio science technology through Amateur Radio.
The Canadian ARISS Team will schedule all of the contacts between the Space Station and schoolchildren and we will provide updated information on these contacts on this webpage throughout 2019 and in the pages of The Canadian Amateur magazine.
Images: © Canadian Space Agency and NASA