Chinese middle school students will, for the first time, talk directly to the astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS) via amateur radio this Sunday, the Nanjing No 3 Middle School recently announced.
Contact with US astronauts in space is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, which aims to raise student interest in science and technology through firsthand experience with the NASA space program.
Wang Long, the teacher in charge of amateur radio activities from Nanjing No 3 Middle School, said that NASA has posted the activity as part of its agenda, and said the activity is scheduled for around 6:40pm Sunday.
Twenty student representatives with selected questions will be able to participate in the activity.
Students will have a ten-minute talk with the US astronauts in the ISS. NASA astronaut and flight engineer Anderson Clayton will use the amateur radio in the International Space Station to talk to students.
“Can you see the Great Wall from the ISS?” “Cyou hear anything from space?” The school has invited everyone to submit questions for the astronauts this month, and selected 20 which involve space problems, flight and the life of an astronaut. The school’s principl said they applied for ARISS membership in April 2005. Since then, ARISS has assigned special representatives to visit the school for detailed inspection.
ARISS, started in 1996, is an educational program to help design, build and operate radio gear to connect ISS crew members to students on Earth. ARISS is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) and NASA.
