Via ARRL: Proposals Sought For Amateur Radio Crew Contacts From The International Space Station
10/07/2022
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an amateur radio contact with a crew member onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2023.
Organizations that want to participate will need to submit a proposal no later than November 13, 2022. ARISS is looking for proposals that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate into a well-developed education plan. To assist with the proposals, ARISS has posted information about expectations and guidelines on their website.
ARISS anticipates holding the contact between July 1 and December 31, 2023. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact radio contact dates. Crew members aboard the ISS will participate in scheduled amateur radio contacts approximately 10 minutes in length, and they’ll allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via amateur radio. It takes place between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station, and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences an opportunity to learn firsthand what it’s like to live and work in space. Such contacts provide the chance to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students will also have an opportunity to learn about satellite radio communication, wireless technology, and radio science.
Amateur radio organizations around the world, with the support of NASA and space agencies in Canada, Japan, Europe, and Russia, present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide much of the equipment and operational support that enables communication between the ISS crew and students around the world.
ARISS is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the ISS. In the US, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, the ISS National Laboratory Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. For more information about ARISS, visit their website at www.ariss.org.
