Students to seek answers from great beyond in space talk with astronaut
If all goes according to plan, 17 Ottawa students will chat with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station today.
While students all over the world have been talking with astronauts on the space station for two decades, this a Canadian first because it's the first time during the COVID -19 pandemic that a class in Canada will connect virtually with the space station.
The students, ranging in age from six to 13, are with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board's virtual school: Ottawa-Carleton Virtual.
NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, who launched on Nov. 15 and is currently serving as commander on the Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon, is expected to field questions about life and work on the space station. Questions have been chosen through class discussion.
The program is run though Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, an international organization supported by NASA and the space agencies of Canada, Russia, Japan and Europe.
Amateur radio equipment aboard the space station allows astronauts and cosmonauts to communicate with students all over the world without taxing official communication channels.
NASA teacher co-ordinator Lori McFarlane said the program had brought space talks to schools, children's hospitals and other organizations. Typically, children have in-person learning sessions about the International Space Station before they figure out what they'll ask the astronaut.
McFarlane said the Ottawa students have come up with an interesting set of questions.
The astronauts enjoy talking to students as well. “Let's face it, it's a nice break from all the serious work they do,” McFarlane said.
This will not be a long conversation. The space station travels so fast that the astronauts see 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. The Ottawa students will have only a 10-minute window to talk to Hopkins before they get cut off.
The goal of the program is to get students interested in science, engineering and technology, satellite communication, wireless technology and radio science.
Students and the public can listen o the conversation on YouTube. The program starts at noon Friday and the discussion with Hopkins will start at about 12:40 p.m.