Tuesday, March 21, was a banner day for schools in Italy, Canada and the US, when students got the rare opportunity to hook up via Amateur Radio with the commander of the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged contacts between NA1SS and IZ7EVR at the Giuseppe Settanni School in Rutigliano, Italy, and VE6AFO at Sir James Lougheed Elementary School in Calgary, Alberta, in advance. A couple of contacts the same day with KG4EDK at Coloma Junior High School in Michigan came about through luck and happenstance. During the Rutigliano contact, ISS Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, predicted that humans one day will settle elsewhere in the universe.
“I think that is the destiny of mankind to leave the earth and colonize and
settle other planets, and we will start by learning how to settle and live
on the moon,” McArthur said. In a similar vein, McArthur hypothesized in
response to another question that the universe is larger than humans can
fully understand. “And there are so many other stars and so many planets
that the probability of life elsewhere in the universe is very, very high. I
do not think we have ever met any however.”
McArthur said he believes humans can remain in orbit as long as they have
food, water and air and can get regular exercise, and he said he feels
wonderful living in space.
Princess Elettra Marconi, the youngest daughter of the wireless pioneer, was on hand for the event and greeted McArthur. “My father was also very keen to share his inventions with school children,” she said in part. “I am sure that it will inspire these young adults to follow a path of scientific
exploration.”
Responded McArthur: “We are able to do such grand things as explore space because of the inventions of your father. We are very grateful for the wonderful scientific work he did and are very honored to speak with you.”
In January 2003, Elettra Marconi greeted ISS Expedition 6 Commander Ken
Bowersox, KD5JBP, during events marking the 100th anniversary of Marconi’s first transatlantic wireless message.
Later that day, a dozen pupils at Sir James Lougheed Elementary School in
Alberta, Canada, quizzed McArthur on a variety of topics related to living
in space. McArthur told the youngsters he believes there will be commercial
space travel in their lifetimes, and the space station is one key to making
that a reality.
“We think we need a space station because people want to explore, they want to learn new things, and many people would like us to go to other planets such as Mars,” McArthur said. “And so, on the space station, we can learn how people can live and work in space and stay healthy.”
Becoming an astronaut involves a lot of schooling, he advised the youngsters. “I never stopped studying to be an astronaut,” he said. “Part of being an astronaut is you never stop learning.”
The Lougheed kids asked 14 questions before the ISS slipped over the horizon and out of radio range. Past Radio Amateurs of Canada President Ken Oelke, VE6AFO, loaned his call sign for the occasion, while a team of radio amateurs coordinated through QCWA Wild Rose Chapter 151 set up the Earth station.
Not long after the Lougheed QSO, teacher Matt Severin, KG4EDK, at Coloma Junior High School lucked out by briefly contacting McArthur while his earth science students listened in. McArthur told the class that earth science is an important topic. “We live it everyday as we observe the earth, and it’s truly spectacular,” he said.
On a subsequent pass, Severin reports, 13 somewhat better-prepared Coloma students had the opportunity to question McArthur themselves. Responding to a question, McArthur described the crew’s work in space.
“Our activities can range from anything from doing experiments–most of our experiments are on ourselves–or we can do maintenance around the spacestation, replace components or take them apart and repair,” McArthur said.”We also may spend several hours a day just cleaning the space station.”
Said Severin afterward: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be able to provide this opportunity to my kids. This was the ultimate teachable moment. I couldn’t let it pass by.” Severin’s classroom station is remarkably modest–a handheld VHF transceiver and a homemade “copper actusantenna stuck in a bucket of sand on the roof of the school,” he said.
ARISS is an international educational outreach, with US participation by
ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.