Page 219 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

Inspiration

Conducting education activities was not the reason why the International Space Station (ISS) was built;
however, the presence of astronauts aboard the ISS serves as an inspiration to students and their
teachers worldwide. Connecting with crew members in real time—either through “live” downlinks or
by simply speaking via a ham radio—ignites students’ imagination about space exploration and its
application to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Inspiring Youth with Science in Space Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(http://www.ariss.org) offers an ongoing opportunity
In the 1960s, widely publicized missions to the moon
inspired homemade space helmets and backyard to let students speak directly with astronauts and
bottle rockets that flew a bit shy of low-Earth orbit. cosmonauts on the space station via ham radio.
These contacts are conducted in voice mode from
Today, space station education programs inspire the
next generation by providing them opportunities to either the Zvezda Service Module or the Columbus
watch, learn from, and even participate in space- Module. Those conducted in the Columbus Module
based research. can be performed via two-way voice augmented with
downlink ham video. In-flight education downlink
All space station partners—NASA, Canadian Space sessions through the NASA Education Office also
Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace enable student-crew communications using live video
Exploration Agency (JAXA) and State Space Corporation feeds so communities can see the astronauts while
ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS)—lead education speaking with them.
projects. These opportunities leverage real research
to give students experience with the scientific process. ARISS hardware first launched aboard Space Shuttle
Atlantis on STS-106 and transferred to the space
Past student competitions, including Try Zero-G and station for use by its first crew, and it has been used
YouTube SpaceLab, allowed students to have their regularly ever since. ARISS helps to get students
experiments performed in orbit. These inquiry-based interested in STEM by allowing them to talk directly
approaches to learning enabled students and their with crew members who are living and working
communities to contribute to the growing knowledge aboard the space station.
gained from research onboard the space station.
Students also gained an understanding of the true An ARISS contact takes place as a part of a
nature of science and in-depth knowledge of scientific comprehensive suite of education activities.
concepts, laws and theories. The programs helped To prepare for an exchange, students study the
them develop interests, attitudes and “habits of mind” space station and the research conducted there.
They also learn about wireless technology, radio
related to science and mathematics.
science, and satellite communication used for
space exploration.
The space station must pass over these earthbound
communicators during amateur radio transmissions
Today, ISS education programs in order to relay signals between the space station’s
ham radio and ground receivers. Other factors affect
inspire the next generation by the timing of scheduled contacts, including weather,
providing them opportunities crew availability, and the schedules of visiting vehicles.
These ham radio conversations usually last about
to watch, learn from, and 10 minutes. Crew members answer questions from

even participate in space- students as they and community members look on.
During a pass, the crew can answer an average of
based research. 18 questions, depending on their complexity.
Ham radio on the space station connects and inspires
students in four ways: providing first-hand education

205