September 12: Prior to the recent Bowman Middle School ARISS contact in Bakersville, NC, Principal Amber Young invited US Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, and she went! Afterward, Foxx sent Amber a letter of thanks and compliments to the STEM teacher and students on their contact and STEM lessons. Returning to the US Capitol Building, she reported details on the House floor. Her words were read into the Congressional Record—HOUSE H4237—as follows.
“Madam Speaker, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Bowman Middle School in Mitchell County to view the school’s International Space Station, ISS, contact project. Thanks to the diligent work of Dan Hopson, a STEM teacher at the school who has a penchant for securing these kinds of opportunities, this project was able to come to fruition. Students were able to ask a variety of questions in real time via ham radio to Warren Hoburg, a NASA astronaut who successfully traveled to the ISS on March 3 of this year.
This impressive event was one that these students will surely remember as they continue their educational journeys. Hopefully, some will be inspired to engage in careers in STEM areas. Congratulations to Dan Hopson, Principal extraordinaire Amber Young, and dedicated staff at Bowman Middle School who made this event and this learning opportunity such a success.”
September 6: After being accepted for an ARISS contact a few months ago, Egemen Yildiz Secondary School teachers in İzmir, Turkey, with help from an area amateur radio club, moved students through a curriculum covering space and radio. The project, titled “Turkish Children in Space in the 100th Year of the Republic,” prepared them for the ARISS contact. Students talked with Jasmin Moghbeli, who answered 20 questions. The event was live streamed, and 15 days later had garnered over 800 views. 130 people attended, including reporters from several TV stations and the Hurriyet Daily News (HDN). The HDN story (https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-students-chat-with-astronaut-via-radio-186101) stated that an 8th grade girl told her teachers about writing a proposal in hopes of being selected for the ARISS contact. A group of students had enjoyed a space camp in June.
September 12: Undergrads from the IEEE ESPRIT Student Branch and ESPRIT University in Little Ariana, Tunisia engaged in an ARISS contact (some on-site and some tied in virtually) with Andreas Mogensen. He answered 14 of the ESPRIT students’ questions and had time afterwards to hear students’ applause and goodbyes. Two livestreams captured 854 views and several days later, totals climbed to 2.2k views. The lead educator complimented ARISS, writing: “On behalf of IEEE ESPRIT Student Branch & ESPRIT University, I wholeheartedly thank you for efforts; we greatly appreciate and admire the ARISS team.” The school supports a varied curriculum including civil engineering, electromechanics, and business.
September 5: ISS National Lab (INL) honored ARISS by including ARISS school contacts in a photo story on the INL website that summarized accomplishments of the Crew 6 astronauts.
September 1: Axiom-2 crew members John Shoffner and Peggy Whitson, who flew in May 2023, filmed onboard scenes that demonstrated many aspects of life on the ISS in microgravity. They made the footage into a series (titled “Habitat Space”) of short educational videos. One is on ARISS and amateur radio; the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZy97_VbbDM (3 minutes and 20 seconds in length). The Perseid Foundation supported and posted the free lessons.
September 14: ARISS sponsor ARRL (American Radio Relay League) held a Zoom town hall meeting for ARRL members in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Part of the hour-long program included a talk on North Carolina’s Bowman Middle School ARISS contact and similar contacts in other states. 267 people tied into the ARRL Zoom meeting and each of the 4 states streamed the meeting on their own Facebook platforms, with one state also streaming a YouTube—for a total of over 700 viewers. More ARRL members will view the recordings.
ARISS Upcoming Events
Sept 22: Escuela Preparatoria LaSalle, Torreon Coah, Mexico – ARISS contact, ARISS-Canada Team
Sept 28: Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia – ARISS contact, ARISS-Russia Team