 Australian
youngsters quiz ISS Commander
via amateur radio
Giving birth in space, the behavior of fire in zero gravity and what
happens if an ISS crew member gets a bloody nose were among the topics
that piqued the curiosity of a group of Australian youngsters this month.
Students at St Martins Lutheran College in Mt Gambier spoke via Amateur
Radio March 17 with International Space Station Expedition 10 Commander
Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW.
The teleconferenced contact between WH6PN in Honolulu and NA1SS in space
was arranged by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
program.
One youngster wanted to know if it would be possible for a baby to be
born in space.
"There's no reason why a baby could not be born in space,"
Chiao said, "however that has not been done." Earlier reproductive
experiments involving Japanese red-bellied newts, fish and other animals
in space have been successful, he said, "so I would anticipate that
it is possible."
Responding to another question, Chiao told the St Martins pupils that
fire behaves a bit differently in space than it does on Earth. "If
you were to light a candle, for example, the flame would actually form
a ball instead of the point that you're used to seeing on Earth,"
he explained.
A bloody nose would get essentially the same treatment in space as it
would on Earth, Chiao said in answer to another query. "Of course,
you couldn't tilt your head back--that wouldn't do much good without gravity,"
Chiao said. "But we do have a complete medical kit on board that
includes a kit
for bloody noses, and we would try to apply local pressure as you would
on Earth and try to stop the bleeding."
Under the guidance of teacher Jeanie Axton, the 10 participating students
squeezed in 22 questions during the approximately 10-minute contact, which
took place around 8 PM local time. Handling Earth-station duties in Hawaii
was Nancy Rocheleau, WH6PN, at Sacred Hearts Academy.
MCI donated a two-way audio teleconferencing link to make the contact
possible. Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, represented ARISS at the school and
set up a PowerPoint display of
space scenes and a tracking screen to show the ISS's position relative
to Earth. He also answered numerous questions from the youngsters and
the audience following the contact. He had on-site assistance from members
of
the South East Radio Club. Will Marchant, KC6ROL, moderated the ARISS
event.
Live audio from the ARISS contact also was distributed via IRLP and EchoLink.
Some 200 parents, teachers and other students were on hand for the St
Martins QSO. Several members of local and national news media covered
the
event. The St Martins QSO marked the seventh time an Australian school
has taken part in an ARISS school group contact.
ARISS is an international
educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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