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In early 2016 the staff and students at Royal Masonic School for Girls will contact the International Space Station (ISS) and speak to Tim Peake, the first British Astronaut to live on-board the ISS.
What is the International Space Station (ISS)?
The ISS is a man-made satellite which orbits the Earth almost 16 orbits of the Earth every day! It was assembled in space after the launch of the first section in 1998. It is 100m long and can be seen from the ground as it flies over in the early morning or late evening. It has a crew of between 3 and 7 Astronauts and has been continuously habited by crew since 2nd November 2000. In December 2015 Tim Peake will arrive on-board to begin 6 months of scientific research.
More detail on the ISS can be found at NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
What does the ISS do?
It is a microgravity research laboratory where astronauts carry our experiments in Biology, Physics, Astronomy and Meteorology. Tim Peake’s mission aims to explore human behaviour and performance in extreme environments, for example the effect that living in a microgravity environment has on our eyes.
What will we do at RMS to celebrate Tim Peake’s mission?
The girls will be involved a number of activities which will take place over 2-days in the lead up to the event such as:
- ‘Create a Model the ISS’
- ‘Investigate the Environment on the ISS’
- ‘Making a Comet’
And competitions such as:
- ‘Rocket Challenge’
- ‘Photograph the ISS’
- Essay competition on ‘The journey to becoming an Astronaut’
- ‘Ask an Astronaut a Question’
But of course, all RMS students and staff will come to The Great Hall to witness first-hand our radio and video link to the International Space Station. Some girls will also have the opportunity to ask Tim Peake a question about his scientific research projects while he is orbiting the Earth from Space!