ARISS CONTACT PLANNED WITH HIGH SCHOOLS IN ITALY ------------------------------------------------ An Expedition 21 ARISS school contact is planned with participants at Istituto Comprensivo di Govone Scuola Secondaria di primo grado Nino Costa di Priocca, Priocca, Cuneo, Italy. Two Junior High schools - "Nino Costa" of Priocca and "T.L. Dalmasso" of Govone - are integral part of the Comprehensive School of Govone in the province of Cuneo. The municipal territories of the Comprehensive School of Govone are situated on the left bank of the river Tanaro. This district, which is hilly country, is called "Roero" and it is famous for its fine wines. The inhabitants live mostly in the plain where the schools are located. The old town centre with the townhall is uphill. The students come from the small towns of Govone, Priocca, Magliano Alfieri, Castellinaldo, San Damiano. The school is attended by about 300 pupils, aged between 3 and 13 years. The direct ARISS contact is scheduled Monday 14 December 2009 at 08:30 UTC, which is 09:30 CEWT. The event will be webcast on http://www.ik1sld.org/live Participants will ask as many of following questions as time allows: 1. Debora: What do you do in order to keep fit? 2. Francesco: How do you preserve food? 3. Ivan: Is it possible to keep plants on the ISS? 4. Alice: How is the quantity of food needed on board the ISS calculated? 5. Fabio: Can you drink carbonated drinks? 6. Francesca: Is the water on board recycled? If yes, does it taste different from the normal tap water? 7. Gabriele: After your fitness activity on board are you tired like on Earth? 8. Emanuele: How do you communicate with the control base on Earth? 9. Viviana: What are the physical reactions you notice when passing from gravity to microgravity? 10. Alessandro: How difficult is it to leave your family and beloved behind for a journey into Space? 11. Alberto: How did you develop your passion for astronomy? 12. Sveva: What kind of experiments do you carry out on board? 13. Luca: What kind of food do you have at your disposal? 14. Roberta: How many times a day do you eat? 15. Ilaria: What is a typical day like? 16. Sonia: What kind of idea about Space did you have before leaving and what do you think now? 17. Cristian: Does it get boring after a while? 18. Alice: Does living in Space increase or reduce weight? 19. Gloria: Are you prone to infectious diseases on board the ISS? 20. Giancarlo: What kind of vehicle takes you to the ISS? 21. Giuliano: How do astronauts wash themselves? How much water can they use? 22. Domenico: What do astronauts wear inside the spaceship? 23. Francesca: How long can an astronaut stay in orbit on the ISS? 24. Gabriele: How long does it take for the Shuttle to dock with the ISS? ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers onboard the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology and learning. 73 Gaston Bertels - ON4WF ARISS Chairman ASTRONAUT JEFFREY WILLIAMS KD5TVQ TALKS TO ITALIAN STUDENTS AT ASTRONOMIC PARK TORINO Monday, 14 December 2009 at 08:30 UTC, i.e. 09:30 local time, Comprehensive School of Govone di Priocca Middle School, Cuneo, Italy established a direct contact with NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams KD5TVQ on board the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio school station operated the contact with callsign IK1SLD. The two Junior High schools "Nino Costa" of Priocca and "T.L. Dalmasso" of Govone are integral part of the Comprehensive School of Govone in the province of Cuneo. The municipal territories of the Comprehensive School of Govone are situated on the left bank of the river Tanaro; this district, which is a hill country, is called "Roero" and it's famous for its fine wines. The inhabitants live mostly in the plain where the schools can also be found while on the top of the hill there is the old town centre where is the townhall. The students came from the small towns of Govone, Priocca, Magliano Alfieri, Castellinaldo, San Damiano. The school is attended by about 300 pupils, aged between 3 and 13 years. Claudio Ariotti, IK1SLD radio contact coordinator decided in favour of a direct contact. All questions were read by the students of ?Nino Costa? Middle School. The contact site were located at InfiniTo Astronomic Parck in Pino Torinese, Torino, where an audience of more than 150 students, teachers, visitors and media could follow the contact. After the contact, ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF commented the event with by phone. At 08:30 UTC, contact with OR4ISS was established by station IK1SLD. Astronaut Jeffrey Williams KD5TVQ answered 22 questions by direct contact. The signals from the ISS were loud and clear all the time. Regional Television, local media and newspapers covered the event. The audio and video was distributed on http://www.ik1sld.org/live/ - about 150 Contacts by Web streaming from France 66, Italy 52, USA 25, Poland 15, Belgium 6, Switzerland 3, United Kingdom 3, Austria 2. Congratulations to Infinito planetarium and ARI Casale Monferrato team! 73 Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF ARISS mentor