International Space Station Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, says he and his crewmate, Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, are off their NASA-imposed diet. Chiao spoke via Amateur Radio January 7 with youngsters at Mori Elementary School in Hyogo, Japan. The contact between 8N3M in Japan and NA1SS aboard the space station was arranged via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.
“We received a Progress resupply ship on Christmas day, so now we have plenty of food and water, so we’re no longer on our diet,” Chiao reported in response to a “bonus” question, “Are you hungry now?” from 8N3M control operator Kazuyoshi “Kaz” Tanaka, JG3QZN. In early December, NASA had asked the Expedition 10 crew to trim 300 calories or so from its typical 3000 calorie daily intake to keep food supplies from running dangerously low before the Russian Progress supply rocket arrived Christmas Day.
The unmanned spacecraft brought 2.5 tons of food, fuel, clothing, supplies and Christmas gifts to the complex. Chiao and Sharipov are now roughly halfway through their six-month mission. Replying to the “food question” that students typically ask, Chiao said the crew has a varied menu aboard the ISS, including, he noted, “some Japanese curry that I brought with me–curried rice–and also some tofu dishes.”
Chiao fielded a total of 20 questions from the school during the approximately 10-minute direct VHF contact. He told the youngsters that he and Sharipov underwent lengthy and extensive training for their current space mission.
“In fact, my crewmate and I trained for the better part of three and a half years,” Chiao said, “We were studying systems in both Russia and in the United States and we also practiced working in spacesuits and we also had to do physical exercise to stay in good shape.” He urged a student who asked about becoming as astronaut to study lots of math and science.
Chiao noted the crew will undertake a space walk later this month. On the task list is moving some Japanese experiments from one side of the ISS to the other, he said.
Responding to another question about the convenience of living aboard the ISS, Chiao said the lack of gravity presents a mixed blessing. “Many things are inconvenient about living in space,” Chiao said, “because in zero gravity it’s very easy to lose things. They just float away.” The upside, he noted, is that “floating makes it very easy for you to move around, so some things are convenient also.”
A dozen Mori pupils prepared 19 questions for the contact, and Chiao answered them all, plus the query from Tanaka just as the pass was coming to an end. Looking on were about 100 visitors. The event attracted news media coverage from five newspapers and a local TV cable channel. Founded in 1872, Mori Elementary School is located near the city of Kakogawa and has an enrollment of 363 pupils.
ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.–thanks to Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ/AD6GZ, who provided information for this story