ARISS contact planned for Youth Hostel “La Foresta”, Italy

Friday July 1, 2011 at approximately 14.48 UTC, which is 16.48 CEST, an ARISS contact is planned with Youth Hostel “La Foresta”, Italy.

Since 2009, at the Youth Hostel « La Foresta », near Trasimeno Lake and Perugia, Panda Avventure organizes one of its most interesting educational programmes: «Astronauts in Forest» for about 200 children from 11 to 14 years.

The programme combines the study of Earth with the study of Space and Space exploration and a big role game. Children are invited to imagine themselves as «Aliens» landed on our Planet from space, and to participate every day to a different “Mission” to discover the environmental problems of the Earth and try to find solutions to them.

The Hostel has been equipped with two big hemispheres (two “space ships”) placed in the forest and equipped with laboratories, GPS instruments, telescope, big screen to project films, computers, sky maps, library with educational material. It has been the first program of this kind in Italy, supported by ESA/ESRIN with a very important contribution. All the activities consist in field research, experiments, use of technical instruments, and games to explore the Earth and the Sky, to research solutions to save our Planet. Every day a logbook is kept by children and every Mission is filmed by yougsters. At eve, a film or a documentary on Earth or Space is shown.

The programme “Astronauts in Forest” and the activity reports of the summer camps always arise a lot of interest. They have a large circulation through the Panda Avventure website and social network. Generally Panda Avventure organizes also media coverage through Newsletters and contacts with newspapers and magazines.

The radio contact will be a direct operated by IK0WGF.

The event will be webcast on streaming video by http://www.livestream.com/AMSAT_Italia

The conversation will be in English.

Students will ask as many of following questions as time allows:

1. How was the travel from earth to the ISS?

2. Is it noisy in the ISS?

3. In our hostel we recycle the water from the rain for the toilet, Is it true that you too recycle all the water and liquid in the ISS?

4. We are living in a forest: have you got any plant in the ISS?

5. We read that every morning a different music awoke you. Which was this morning?

6. We are attending a camp in nature, training to become astronauts; could you please give us a tip for our training?

7. As you on the ISS, we too work as a team and share all our time together. Sometimes living together is difficult. Is the same for you?

8. What do you miss mostly of nature?

9. How hot is inside and outside the ISS?

10. Now you are above the clouds! How is to live so many days without rain?

11. Does your hair grow faster in the ISS?

12. We heard that a lot of astronauts lost their smell sense in the space. Did it happen to you?

13. What do you do to relax?

14. Can you see the moon phases from your window?

15. Which was your dream job when you were a kid?

16. Have you brought something with you from home on ISS?

17. Do you think that we are alone in the universe?

18. In which way are you in contact with your relatives from ISS?

19. Did you do a walk in space outside the ISS?

20. How much was your training important for your job?

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