April 13:  Students at École Secondaire Sainte Marguerite d’Youville in St. Albert, AB, Canada held an ARISS radio contact Q&A session with Axiom crew member Mary Pathy on the ISS. He answered 12 questions and then thanked the students.  The YouTube livestream had 240 students viewing the action along with a team of 17 others.  Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporters were on site and posted a story. After the contact, one teacher reported, “The ARISS contact was ‘all the talk’ in the hallways for the rest of the day.” The school provides education to grades 7-9 and its optional class program allows students to participate in STEAM-oriented activities including; robotics, multimedia, and enterprise and innovation.

April 13: Dr. David R. Williams School in Oakville, ON, Canada was the site of an ARISS radio contact with Axiom Astronaut Mark Pathy; he answered 13 students’ questions and one from a teacher. All 1000 students listened to the livestream and were excited that retired CSA Astronaut David R. Williams was online listening, too.  The school’s name comes from him, a Canadian physician and CEO who served as mission specialist on two space shuttle missions (1998 and 2007).  Viewers of the recording posted on the school Facebook page totaled 115. The faculty provides opportunities to over 1000 junior kindergarten through grade eight students who have a major interest in science. They learned about all Canadian astronauts and the contribution Canada makes to the international space effort. Through the year, the science curriculum led students in discovering ISS research conducted as related to humans’ response to Earth’s environmental conditions, living and working on the ISS, and social aspects of that.

April 11-13: ARISS sponsored another very popular Slow Scan Television (SSTV) session (picture downlink event), this one featuring women in space and recognizing Cosmonautics Day. For about 60 hours, 12 images were downlinked. Space and radio enthusiasts, students, educators, parents, and shortwave listeners throughout the world enjoyed trying to collect all 12 space history images.  1,182 participants posted 3,339 images to the ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/.  Nearly all enthusiasts requested the handsome ARISS SSTV diploma. Many left comments and here are two:

  • 5th grade teacher: “I worked with my students to receive SSTV. They were very interested!” 
  • “These SSTV images were received as part of our 4th grade science activity at Horizon Science Academy.”

April 14:  École Elementaire Ste. Jean D’Arc in London, ON, Canada held an ARISS contact for its students and Axiom Astronaut Mark Pathy, who answered 15 questions. Western University (WU) researcher Eric Pilles worked with the school and attended the ARISS contact. He reported: “When the radio kicked in, you could feel the energy in the room as everyone got excited to hear what the astronaut had to say.”  The school collaborated with WU’s outreach program at the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, which allowed students to participate in extra activities such as visits to an observatory. The EESJD faculty involved all 400 students (junior-kindergarten to 6th grade) throughout the year in studies related to the ARISS contact. For example, sixth graders focused on space-related sciences, effects on the body in space, and what impacts space exploration has on society and Earth’s environment. All students learned about Canadian astronauts and contributions of Canada to the international space effort. CBC posted an online story about the ARISS contact at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-students-over-the-moon-after-chat-with-astronau-aboard-the-iss-1.6420312

April 14:  Students at École Marie Poburan in St. Albert, AB, Canada held an ARISS contact with Axion Astronaut Mark Pathy; he answered 13 of the students’ questions. The school’s 300 students are in Kindergarten to 6th grade. In preparation for this ARISS contact, the faculty developed science program activities for all grades activities such as designing a space shuttle, planning a Mars outpost, learning to do orbital tracking of the ISS, and learning about basic electrical circuits. The 3rd graders found out things about sound and communications. The 5th graders tied together connections between Earth’s ecosystem and weather science. The 6th graders designed space-related inventions and discovered the impact Canadian innovations have had on space science.

April 21: Bellefontaine (OH) High School’s ARISS contact will be reported next week.

ARISS Upcoming Events 

Next ARISS contacts — TBD