This updated release has been issued following changes dealing with questions 6, 12
and 18.
ARISS Contact is Scheduled with Students at Woodward Mill Elementary School, Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA
February 19, 2025—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 students at the Woodward Mill Elementary School located in Lawrenceville, GA. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.
Woodward Mill Elementary School is a public school in Gwinnett County, northeast of Atlanta, Georgia with about 1,100 students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Students participate in ongoing STEM learning as they complete hands-on tasks utilizing the ‘Engineering Design Model’ and ‘Design Thinking’ Process. STEM is integrated into the school’s core content. Students also are learning STEM in their LEGO Robotics club, STEM Night for families/community members, and STEM-related field trips, both in person and virtually. To prepare for this ARISS contact, students have been conducting research, reading a wide variety of space-related texts, and tracking the ISS using Geochron.
This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Don Pettit, amateur radio call sign KD5MDT. 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 relay ground station.
The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Amateur radio operators using call sign K4RGK, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 20, 2025 at 11:37:28 am EST (GA, USA) (16:37:28 UTC, 10:37 am CST, 9:37 am MST, 8:37 am PST). The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/live/NfxlSEUOg6A https://live.ariss.org/
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As time allows, students will ask these questions:
1. When astronauts are sleeping, is there any sensation of lying down?
2. What is the best part of your job, and why do you like it?
3. Once you return from space, do you feel any differences between being in space and back on Earth?
4. Have you ever done a spacewalk, and if so, what was it like?
5. What do you do for fun in space?
6. What has surprised you the most from flying in space?
7. How hard is the training to become an astronaut?
8. How do you produce drinkable water in space?
9. How does using ham radio make your experience better on the International Space Station?
10. How does it feel not to hear daily noises like traffic, horns honking, birds chirping, and other regular sounds?
11. How is your physical and mental health when you come back from space?
12. What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen while flying in space?
13. How often do you conduct a science experiment in space?
14. How do the astronauts get oxygen on the International Space Station?
15. Have you found any souvenirs to bring back to Earth? If so, can you tell us about it?
16. How do you celebrate holidays or birthdays in space?
17. How do you keep track of the time and day of the week?
18. I know that there is an observation dome that has to face Earth. How do you keep that facing Earth?
19. What personal items do you bring with you to the ISS to make you feel better?
20. What have you learned from some of the astronauts that you’ve worked with in space?