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 Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending June 2, 2005 |  Next: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler |
 A Brigidine student asks her question of NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, KE5DRY, at the controls of NA1SS. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 7, 2005--Agricultural experiments aboard the International Space Station have extended into the growing of radishes, a group of Australian high schoolers learned June 2 during a ham radio contact with astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY. The contact between NA1SS aboard the ISS and VK2KVE at Brigidine College near Sydney, Australia, was arranged via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Phillips told the 18 students that he considers today's astronauts and cosmonauts the advance guard in a new wave of explorers.
"I feel that we are taking the initial steps toward
becoming a spacefaring species," Phillips said, "and this holds promise for
sustaining our species against eventual threats of overcrowding or perhaps
asteroid impact." Another student wanted to know if Phillips compares himself
to the explorers and discoverers of earlier eras and if space will continue to
be "a final frontier" in another 50 to 100 years.
 The student ground crew enjoys a few laughs before the start of the ARISS school group contact. Students controlled some of the ham radio apparatus at VK2KVE during the contact, including antenna tracking. | ||
 Astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, at the controls of the NA1SS "Phase 2" station onboard the International Space Station. [NASA Photo] | ||
 The excitement was contagious among both the Brigidine students and the audience on hand for the event. | ||
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"We're still feeling our way in space, and we rarely venture very far from the shore," Phillips said, noting that he agreed with the explorer analogy. "In another 50 years though, I expect that we will be pushing the space frontier further into new worlds."
Asked how plants would grow in space without gravity, Phillips began his answer by pointing out that there is gravity in space and it's what holds the ISS in orbit. "We don't feel it because we're free-falling around the earth," he added.
He explained that experiments in growing plants in space continue. "Right now we are growing radishes in a little greenhouse, and they appear to be growing normally," he said. "They respond mostly to the direction of the light."
A couple of the students queried Phillips regarding the relationship between the passage of time and the speed of the ISS in orbit, which is some 17,500 MPH (27,000 kph). Phillips noted that a clock on the ISS would read the same time as one observed on Earth. He further reported that he's seen no evidence that what's known as "time dilation," a component of the theory of relativity, is affecting time or slowing his aging process.
Phillips advised students wishing to follow his in his footsteps to study hard, concentrating on the sciences. "I recommend taking a lot of mathematics, because that expands your horizons of your study in university and your eventual career work," he said. "Take all the challenging courses you can, and take advantage of those educational opportunities." The best career paths, he said, would be in science, engineering or medicine.
The first few minutes of the approximately 10-minute pass were plagued with terrestrial interference, so some of Phillips' early responses were smothered by QRM--apparently from paging systems. But once the NA1SS signal built, interference was no longer an issue.
Students participating in the contact ranged in age from 13 to 18. Brigidine College was the first school in New South Wales to make an ARISS school group contact.
"The activity has been an amazing learning experience," said teacher Matt Ryan, VK2KVE, who loaned his call sign for the event. "Students were tracking the spacecraft, controlling the directional antenna, operating the radio transmitter and talking to an astronaut," he said. "Science doesn't come into the classroom better than this."
The students and the enthusiastic audience of more than 200 people cheered with Phillips first came back to VK2KVE's calls. They again applauded loudly after one student thanked Phillips for the opportunity, just as the ISS was going over the horizon.
Reporters from two Sydney TV stations as well as from print media were on hand to cover the event.
ARISS is an international educational outreach program
with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
| Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending June 2, 2005 | Next: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler |
