Quote:

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An International Space Station Expedition 12 ARISS school contact has been
planned with students at Evangelisches Gymnasium Lippstadt, Germany on
Wednesday, 8 March 2006. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:56
UTC, which is 15:56 CET.

The contact will be direct between stations NA1SS and DN2LP. The contact should
be audible to anyone in central Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen
in on the 145.800 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the
conversation in English.

The Evangelisches Gymnasium Lippstadt is a grammar school belonging to the
Protestant Church of Westfalia. At present about 900 pupils aged 10 to 19
attend our school. The school has set itself the ambitious aim to integrate the
necessary preparations for the ISS contact into its school curriculum. The
preparation has been part of the school lessons. In addition to working with the
ISS education kit, many questions arousing from the theoretical field of amateur
radio technology (technical knowledge) were well combined with compulsory topics
of an extensive physics course. The youngsters' goal is to obtain an amateur
radio operator's license.

Students at Lippstadt will ask as many of the following questions as time
allows:

1. Do you make use of the radio or the internet in order to follow the current
political events on earth?
2. Have you ever taken an insect into space by accident? If so, how did you
react?
3. Are there dirty fluffs floating in the air and how can you get rid of them?
4. Is it possible to have a runny nose in zero gravity?
5. Which influence does zero gravity have on photosynthesis of plants?
6. Are your dreams in space different from your dreams on earth?
7. Can you see a difference between urban areas and rural areas from the ISS?
8. What temperature is there outside the ISS?
9. Which physical experiments are performed on the ISS at the moment?
10. Are you able to see the Great Chinese Wall from space?
11. Are you afraid of colliding with orbital debris and has this already
happened?
12. Which state law is ratified on the ISS?
13. Does zero gravity have any influence on the distribution of tears?
14. Does a candle burn in zero gravity?
15. What are the main electric applances on board and what is the maximum total
power consumption of the ISS?
16. Is everyone of you able to do all the tasks on the ISS or are you
specialized?
17. What kind of entertainment like watching TV do you have in space?
18. Did you bring clean clothes for several months or is there some sort of
washing machine on board?
19. How much spare time do you have on the ISS and what do you do when you're
not working?
20. Is there a video recorder or a DVD player on board?
21. Do you get a backstroke when you sneeze?

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One of my interests is amateur radio and I was able to pick up some of the transmission from my home in the UK. Because the ground station was in Germany, I could only pick up the Astronaut (which is who I wanted to hear anyway!) and the audio is a bit patchy in places.

However I have uploaded my recording for you all to download if you so wish.

International Space Station audio file.

Below are some photos from the school's website of the event that I am sure many will never forget.

I personally have been trying for ages to listen to one of the school contacts and was rather please when I heard Mr Spaceman today

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Phil, UK



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An International Space Station Expedition 12 ARISS school contact has been
planned with students at 1° Circolo didattico Giuseppe Settanni”, Rutigliano,
Italy on Tuesday, 21 March 2006. The event is scheduled to begin at
approximately 13:54 UTC, which is 14:54 CET.

The contact will be direct between stations NA1SS and IZ7EVR. The contact should
be audible to anyone in central Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen
in on the 145.800 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the
conversation in English.

Two elementary schools (6 - 11) and one middle school (11 - 14) participate to
this event:
- 1°Circolo didattico Giuseppe Settanni (500 pupils)
- 2°Circolo didattico Aldo Moro” (475 pupils)
- middle school “Alessandro Manzoni” (615 pupils).

Principessa Elettra Marconi, the daughter of Guglielmo Marconi, will probably be
present at the contact.

The schools are located in Rutigliano, the “city of red soil”, located 8 km from
the Adriatic Sea, near the city of Bari in south-east Italy. Because of the
fertile soil, agriculture is very important for the economy of the area, above
all the production of grapes and wine.

The following questions were prepared by the students :

1. How long does it take from Earth to the orbit? Over
2. Is it difficult to get used to zero gravity? Over
3. How do you feel in space? Over
4. At what age did you discover your passion for space? Over
5. How many antennas are mounted on the ISS? Over
6. Which studies are necessary to become an astronaut? Over
7. What were the main scientific experiments during Expedition 12? Over
8. What happens if an astronaut gets seriously ill in space? Over
9. Is there any danger for the ISS module to be hit by Space debris? Over
10. How long can a human being stay in orbit? Over
11. Can the ISS provide a mayor help in case of a meteorite impact on Earth?
Over
12. How are the daily astronauts´ duties organized on the ISS? Over
13. What do you think about extraterrestrial life in the universe? Over
14. What are you seeing at this moment when you look outside the ISS? Over
15. What did you miss most from Earth during the mission? Over
16. Can you observe terrestrial phenomena from the ISS? Over
17. What do you think about future projects of living on the moon? Over
18. What systems do you use for communicating with the Earth? Over
19. Do the astronauts do any training in Star City before their launch? Over
20. What astronomical events did you see during this mission in space? Over

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The astronaut giving the answers was the Commander of the International Space Station Bill McArthur.

Unfortunately I was only able to hear his answers for the first seven questions, before loosing the signal.

Once again, I have recorded what I heard. The recording is just over 5 minutes long, although nothing can be heard during the 3rd and 4th minutes.

The attached placemark is the approximate location of the very lucky school in question.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Phil, UK



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"Google Earth is probably the best geographer's tool since the invention of compasses" - Wilma_Sweden

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