The following news item provides information about today’s ARISS contact on November 27:
ARISS contact on Monday, November 27:
An International Space Station (ISS) school contact has been planned with participants at Ashbury College in Ottawa, Ontario for Monday, November 27.
The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:39 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 NA1SS and VK4KHZ and the scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba, KE5DAR.
The contact should be audible over Australia 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.
The Moderator will be Brian Jackson, VE6JBJ, and the Mentor on site is Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD.
The event will be held in the Theatre and there is expected to be approximately 400 Grade 9 to 11 students. ARISS HAMTV is not planned.
Ashbury College is an independent academic institution in the heart of Canada’s Capital. From Grades 4 to 12, students are prepared for post-secondary education, all while cultivating a strong sense of community engagement, and independent learning. We are part of the International Baccalaureate program and have a deep involvement in the Round Square initiative as well as additional science and math programs. We as a school believe that our participation in the ARISS communication session with the International Space Station would provide valuable and relevant information to our students, as well as reflect our roots in Internationalism and STEM. The students attending the broadcast will be all of the Grade 9 and 10 students as well as students in the Space and Science course and Kinesiology course.
Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1) Microgravity has shown to cause a decrease in muscle mass which can impact muscle strength, endurance, contraction and other key muscular activities. What are some ways that you prevent muscular atrophy in zero gravity and how do you prepare for this prior to space flight?
2) How do you adjust to a sleep cycle on the ISS (the sun sets 16 times)? How do you readjust to a sleep cycle when you return to Earth?
3) What do you miss most about Earth while on the ISS?
4) Funding excepted, what are the obstacles to adding an artificial gravity module to the ISS, considering the potential benefits astronauts could receive from it during long-term space missions?
5) What was the application process like to become an astronaut? What set you apart from your peers?
6) How do the plants grown on the ISS differ from those on Earth? Are there any sustaining food sources?
7) What type of projects/research do you do in outer space and what is your favourite experiment to work on the ISS?
8) In space, the loss of bone mass is found to be up to 10 times the amount of osteoporosis. On earth, one of the ways we prevent bone loss is by increasing resistance training, however, there is no resistance in zero gravity. How do you prepare for and cope with this bone loss in a micro-gravitational environment before, during and after space flight, especially when you are up there for longer periods of time (i.e., six months)? Does this affect things like healing bone fractures?
9) What do you do for fun?
10) What is the most frustrating/exciting part of being an astronaut?
11) What were your first thoughts when arriving at the ISS? Any fear or just excitement?
12) How will things be different with the new space station planned to orbit the moon compared to the International Space Station?
13) How do you bathe?
There is also a scheduled contact for Tuesday, November 28 as follows:
ARISS contact on Tuesday, November 28:
Note: Additional information about the school and questions to be asked will be posted once they have been received.
An International Space Station (ISS) school contact has been planned with students at Huntley Centennial Public School in Carp, Ontario.
A telebridge contact via IK1SLD is scheduled for Tuesday, November 28 at 18:46:37 UTC 50 deg.
The ISS call sign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS and the scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA.
The Moderator will be Brian Jackson, VE6JBJ, and the Mentor on site is Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD
The audience size is expected to be about 600 Grade 2 to 6 students and the event will be held in the Gym. At present we do not know if ARISS HAMTV is planned.
ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to or .
Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.80 MHz. All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted.
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. Further information on the ARISS program is available on their website.
Source: Ian MacFarquhar, VE9IM, RAC ARISS Board Representative
Upcoming Contacts: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)