March 21-23: ARISS Director of Education Tanya Anderson and ARISS educator Kathy Lamont represented ARISS at the 2024 National Conference on Science Education held by the National Science Teachers Association in Denver, CO. The ISS National Lab had invited ARISS to set up a display in its booth. The two educators explained ARISS to about 3,000 attendees. They networked with SCaN’s Jimmy Acevedo, NASA Next Gen STEM’s Samantha Thorstensen, and Space Foundation people. ARISS thanks ISS National Lab for providing the exhibit space. Also, ARISS thanks the SCaN staff who described ARISS in their forums.
March 21: The launch of SpaceX-30 brought special ARISS cargo to the ISS: the refurbished Ham TV system. When it is set up for operation, it will enable ARISS contacts in a number of schools to feature live video of the astronaut the students talk to while the contact takes place. ARISS recognizes Kayser Italia, AMSAT Italia, the NASA HUNCH team, and the ARISS-USA team for their involvement in the repair and updating of the Ham TV system.
March 20 & 22: ARISS-USA Executive Director Frank Bauer attended the 2024 Goddard Space Science Symposium at University of Maryland in College Park, co-hosted by the American Astronautical Society. Over 340 people including NASA scientists, researchers, and experts, and government and industry partners attended the event with its theme “Space 2040: Pathways to the Future.” The Goddard Center Director welcomed everyone by emphasizing the role partnerships play in science and space exploration. NASA leaders shared goals for the next decades of exploration. Bauer networked with 35 people and described ARISS and its activities.
March 27: An ARISS radio contact led by the St. John’s School Authority in St. John’s, NL, Canada linked seven area schools’ students via Zoom. Loral O’Hara handled 16 students’ questions including: “What did you learn in junior high that was useful to you as an astronaut?” Her answer before explaining further: “A lot!” The event’s livestream attracted 258 views and provided a video for students about the sun, greetings to them from Astronaut Robert Thirsk, and a video from St. John’s Signal Hill where, in 1901, Guglielmo Marconi heard the first-ever reception of a transatlantic (from England) wireless radio transmission. The YouTube URL is https://www.youtube.com/@fidlerville. Thirsk said, “Even in the vastness of space during my missions when I supported these radio contacts, I sensed the excitement in the voices of students.” The seven schools’ fifth through twelfth graders (210 of them) had enjoyed special ISS learning activities prior to the ARISS contact.
March 19: ARISS educator Micol Ivancic presented to 17 students at Bandello School in Castelnuovo Scrivia, Italy. She described the ARISS program and shared many lessons with the kids covering the ISS and space exploration. The youth, ages 9 and 10, look forward to their upcoming ARISS contact.
ARISS Upcoming Events
April 3: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Daytona Beach FL-ARISS contact, ARISS-USA Team