As ARISS-Europe's Gaston Bertels, ON4WF (left), manages the microphone, an ESC space camper asks her question of US Astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, during a June 13 ARISS school contact.
As ARISS-Europe's Gaston Bertels, ON4WF (left), manages the microphone, an ESC space camper asks her question of US Astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, during a June 13 ARISS school contact. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 27, 2006--A group of British space campers at the Euro Space Center (ESC) in Belgium went right to the source via ham radio and teleconference to get answers to their questions about life and work aboard the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the June 13 contact with US Astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, at the helm of NA1SS. One camper wanted to know whether a human space flight to Mars would be possible by 2020, as has been projected.
"Oh, I think it's realistic," Williams replied. "It depends upon the countries that are involved and how committed they are to the programs to make them happen by 2020."
Answering another space camper, Williams outlined some potentially practical benefits of the scientific research occurring onboard the ISS.
"You never know when you're doing
research what the benefits are going to be until way off in the future,"
Williams qualified. "We are working on research to prevent kidney stones --
renal stones. That's very important for us in a weightless environment, and
that will have direct application to those on the ground."
 Astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, at the Phase 1 Amateur Radio system in the Zarya Functional Cargo Block of the ISS, talking with students during an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Two amateur radio stations are currently installed on the ISS. [NASA Photo] |
 Youngsters from many European countries each year visit the Euro Space Camp, which includes a permanent Space Expo and an Amateur Radio club station, ON4ESC. |
CLICK HERE to listen to the contact between space campers at Euro Space Center and Astronaut Jeff Williams at NA1SS: <ariss-esc.mp3> [9:41] |
Williams said he and Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, also are conducting studies on bone density. Experience has shown that the weightless environment appears to affect bone density of astronauts and cosmonauts on long-term duty in space.
As other ISS crew members before him have said, viewing Earth from the ISS is awe inspiring. "It definitely changes your vision of the world. It's a very humbling experience to see the earth from this vantage point," Williams responded. "The earth is a beautiful planet from above, and it definitely makes you more aware of what we've been given in our world and that we need to be good stewards of it."
One questioner wanted to know if Williams saw the flashes of light in his eyes -- believed due to cosmic rays -- that other space travellers have reported. Williams said he does see them, especially when he closes his eyes to sleep, but they're not very bothersome. "It's just a very quick flash out of the corner of your eye," he explained.
Serving as the Earth station for the contact with NA1SS was W6SRJ at Santa Rosa Junior College in California. Verizon Conferencing donated a teleconference link to handle two-way audio between the ESC and California. Earth station op Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV, had assistance from Don Dalby, KE6UAY. Contact audio was distributed worldwide via EchoLink and IRLP.
Some 60 teenaged students and their teachers from Gillingham School, Dorset, England, were at the ESC Space Camp the week the contact took place. According to ARISS-Europe's Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, youngsters from many European countries visit the space camp, which includes a permanent Space Expo and an Amateur Radio club station, ON4ESC. Bertels and Philippe Van Houte, ON5PV, assisted on the ESC end of the event.
Twenty questions were asked and answered, and there was time left over for Bertels to express thanks on behalf of the students for the contact, and the youngsters gave a resounding applause. Williams signed off by encouraging the students to make the most of their space camp experience and suggested that some of them might contribute to space exploration in the future.
Also visiting on the day of the event were 50 French schoolchildren. A teacher translated the questions and the answers into French for their benefit.
After the contact, an ARISS member conducted a half-hour question-and-answer session with the students. Six of their questions focused on ARISS activities.
ARISS is a nine-nation
international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and
NASA.
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