Ground Control to Major Tom: Dearborn Students to Talk to Space Station

Have you chatted with the crew aboard the International Space Station lately?

Dearborn students will be able to Roger Wilco that Tuesday, when they connect with the crew via amateur radio.

The conversation will take place as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program, which promotes STEM (science, technology, education and math) learning opportunities.

The conversation takes place at noon in the lecture hall at the Berry Career Center, 22586 Ann Arbor Trail, in Dearborn Heights.

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Mary Varady, STEM Coordinator for the Dearborn school district, has been working with local amateur radio operators for almost a year to arrange the contact with the International Space Station.

In the spring of 2015, Dearborn Public Schools Media Tech Specialist Gordon Scannell, a ham radio operator himself, presented the details of the program to district teachers. Varady has been working with principals to provide lessons and other activities tied to the event.

Scannell, along with other amateur radio volunteers have spent countless hours arranging the technical details for Tuesday’s even, including such activities as installing a large temporary antenna on the roof of the Berry Center.

“We are delighted to have been selected and to be able to offer our students this one of a kind learning opportunity,” Varady said in a statement.

Students will be able to ask questions of the ISS crew. Varady received more than 2,000 questions from students across the district and then had the daunting task of narrowing them down to only the best. In total, 18 students in grades first through eighth had their questions selected.

In addition, students across the district will be able to tune in and watch as the students gathered in the lecture hall talk with the crew of the International Space Station.

An ARISS contact encompasses more than just students asking questions with the ISS crew member. Additional components include student activities such as class lessons about space research, the International Space Station, and radio technology.

The ARISS contact is a “hands on” real world application of the science, technology, engineering and math being taught in the classroom.

ARISS is a joint venture by NASA, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) to facilitate communication via Amateur Radio between astronauts aboard the International Space Station and schools and communities around the world.

ARISS programs excite and motivate students in a one-of-a-kind presentation and exchange. For more information on the ARISS program please visit www.arrl.org/ariss and for more on Amateur Radio visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.

» Photo via NASA