NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Experiment/Payload Overview

Brief Summary

Ever since the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) hardware was first launched aboard space shuttle Atlantis on STS-106 and transferred to ISS during Expedition 1, it has been regularly used to perform school contacts. With the help of Amateur Radio Clubs and ham radio operators, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have been speaking directly with large groups of the general public, showing teachers, students, parents, and communities how amateur radio energizes students about science, technology, and learning. The overall goal of ARISS is to get students interested in mathematics and science by allowing them to talk directly with the crews living and working aboard the ISS.

Principal Investigator

Frank Bauer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C.

Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

Mark Steiner, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

ARISS Vice Chairman: Gaston Bertels, EUROCOM, Brussels, Belgium

ARISS Secretary: Rosalie White, American Radio Relay League, Newington, CT

Payload Developer

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Education Office, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

Sponsoring Agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Expeditions Assigned

|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|

Previous ISS Missions

ARISS has been conducted on the ISS since Expedition 2 following the delivery of the ham radio to the ISS.

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Experiment/Payload Description

Research Summary

• As the ISS passes over a school or over another location that receives a signal from Station and relays it on to the participating school, there is typically a 5 to 8-minute window for students to make contact with the crews aboard ISS.



• In preparation, students research the ISS and learn about radio waves and amateur radio among other topics. Before their scheduled contact with the ISS, they prepare a list of questions on topics they have researched, many of which have to do with career choices and science activities aboard the ISS. Depending on the amount of time and complexity of the questions, from 10 - 20 questions can be asked during one of the sessions.



• While typically only a handful of students can ask questions due to the limited time available, hundreds of other students usually are listening in to the school event from their school classrooms or auditorium, so that each of these events typically reaches hundreds of students.

Description

ARISS is an international working group, consisting of delegations from 9 countries including several countries in Europe as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and the USA. The organization is run by volunteers from the national amateur radio organizations and the international AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) organizations from each country. Since ARISS is international in scope, the team coordinates locally with their respective space agency (e.g. ESA, NASA, JAXA, CSA, and the Russian Space Agency) and as an international team through ARISS working group meetings. Its mission is to provide opportunities to engage and educate students, teachers, parents and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering and math. Through the use of NASA educational resources, the ARISS contact and related activities are integrated into the educational curriculum. ARISS reaches a diverse population nationally and internationally in both formal (schools, universities) and informal (museums, camps, Scouts, planetariums, Challenger Learning Centers) settings. Opportunities exist for experimentation and for the evaluation of new technology as it relates to this program. ARISS also provides a contingency communications network for NASA and the ISS crew.

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Applications

Space Applications

ARISS introduces the next generation of explorers to the environment of space.

Earth Applications

Using a new approach in the classroom on space flight, science, and mathematics will capture the imagination of students. Allowing students to participate in activities that directly involve space will inspire them to pursue careers in science and engineering.

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Operations

Operational Requirements

The ISS ham radio is needed to successfully conduct an ARISS session. During the sessions the crewmembers answer questions from the students for approximately 10 minutes. These activities are scheduled as time is available from the crewmembers.

Operational Protocols

ARISS requires that the crew position themselves in front of the ISS ham radio equipment during each session.

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Results/More Information

Information Pending

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Related Web Sites

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Publications

Results Publications

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Related Publications

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Images

Students attending Space Camp at the Euro Space Center in Belgium are gathered in an auditorium to speak with Astronaut Ed Lu, on board ISS during Expedition 7 in July 2003.
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NASA Image: ISS014E18307 - Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expeditions 14 and 15 Flight Engineer, talks with students at the International School of Brussels in Belgium during an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) in the Zvezda Service Module.
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Students attending Hanazono Elementary School in Akashi-city, Japan get together for an ARISS contact with Sunita Williams in February 2007. Image courtesy of Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ.
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Students from Western Albemarle High School in Crozet, Virginia speak with Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, during ARISS contact, September 2001 during ISS Expedition 3. Image courtesy ARISS.
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Information Provided and Updated by the ISS Program Scientist's Office