Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school and educational contacts resumed in late December after a hiatus to change crews. Expedition 6 Crew Commander Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP, spoke December 29 via NA1SS with a dozen youngsters visiting Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago. http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/index.html
It marked the 81st ARISS contact and the first contact for Bowersox’ crew with youngsters in the US.
“I’d say the most important thing that I have learned in space is that people are very, very strong and flexible, and we can adapt to all types of different environments,” Bowersox told a youngster who had asked the space veteran to describe the most interesting or important thing he’d learned in space.
Other youngsters were curious about food and eating in space. Bowersox said he missed pizza most of all aboard the ISS. His favorite space food, he said, was bread pudding. “And I can just open a packet and eat straight out of the packet with a spoon,” he said. Bowersox also explained that the human body still digests food very well in zero gravity. He also noted that the crew was trying to grow some tomatoes and herbs in space. “We’re not sure how they’ll turn out,” he said, “but we’re hoping they’ll be very tasty.”
An audience of some 200 people, including TV and newspaper reporters, were on hand to watch the youngsters interview Bowersox via Amateur Radio. Participating youngsters ranged between five and ten years old. Organizing the ARISS event were ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, and the planetarium’s Geri Smith.
Audio and video (Quicktime) clips of the Adler Planetarium ARISS contact are available via the Adler Planetarium Web site http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/events/iss/