Students in Texas peppered US astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, with questions about life in space during two separate Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school group contacts in late June. Youngsters at Hockaday School in Dallas spoke with Phillips June 20, while a group of students at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum visited with Phillips by radio a week later. One Hockaday student wanted to know about any “cool science experiments” the astronaut might be working on in space.
“One that’s pretty cool is that every month or so I get to put on a weird-looking suit with instruments all over it,” Phillips said. “Then during a normal day, the suit measures the motions of my knees, hips and ankles and the electronic impulses in my arms and legs.” Phillips allowed that the getup “looks pretty strange” but added, “it’s a good experiment.” In past interviews, Phillips has said that the ISS crew members are the “guinea pigs” for scientific research into how well humans will fare during longer space missions.
Another student wanted to know if pets would ever be allowed aboard the space station. Phillips said he hopes not. “I don’t have any pets here, and they’re not allowed right now, and, as you know, taking care of a pet can be pretty messy,” he responded. “So, I don’t mind not having one, and I think it would also be very confusing for the pet to find he was just flying around all the time.”
Another cool thing about being in space is that the crew doesn’t have to care which way is up or down, Phillips told the kids at Mayborn Museum the following week. “If I want to work on the ceiling or sleep standing on my head, I can do that–no problem,” he said. “But if I want to see where Earth is, I just look out the window.” He told another Mayborn visitor that it’s possible to use a compass in space because Earth’s magnetic field is nearly as strong in space as it is on the ground. The ISS is equipped with magnetic sensors to help determine which way the station is pointing, he said.
The astronaut also said it feels “great” to be aboard the ISS. “You can fly like a bird, your feet never get sore and you never catch a cold,” he explained. One downside is some swelling of the face during the first month or so in space, “sort of like when you’re standing on your head,” he said. “We call that ‘pumpkin head,’ but after that, the pumpkin head goes away and you just feel great.”
One student at the Mayborn Museum also wanted to know why kids can’t go to outer space. Phillips said there are lots of reasons. “For one thing, kids don’t have the education or the experience or the physical strength to do the work we do up here,” he explained. “But also, nobody knows how it would affect their bodies.” Phillips predicted that children eventually would be able to go into space, “but we’re not ready for it yet.”
Youngsters managed to fire off at least 20 questions during each QSO. The contact between NA1SS and W5IU at Hockaday School was direct via 2 meters, while the QSO with Mayborn Museum was routed via WH6PN in Honolulu. MCI donated a teleconferencing link between the school and Hawaii for that event.
ARISS http://www.rac.ca/ariss/ is an international educational outreach
with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.