Ham Radio's Role in Distant Space Travel

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from Arrl newsletter - April 17th, 2004

==>ARISS TO MULL HAM RADIO'S ROLE IN DISTANT SPACE TRAVEL

The Elser-Mathes Cup, sitting idle for more than 75 years, is intended to
mark the occasion of the first two-way Amateur Radio contact between Earth
and Mars. That day may be moving closer. The Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) International Team will contemplate
ham radio's role as NASA--in response to a recent presidential
initiative--seeks to expand the horizons of human spaceflight to the moon,
Mars and beyond. During an International Team meeting March 25-26 in the
Netherlands, ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said NASA's
Education Office has asked ARISS to consider endorsing the initiative and
start laying some groundwork for an Amateur Radio presence. That makes
perfect sense to ARISS Secretary-Treasurer Rosalie White, K1STO, of ARRL.

"Our space agencies are going to Mars now, so it's natural we should think
about it and do initial planning now," said White, who was among the more
than two dozen ARISS delegates on hand at the European Space Research and
Technology Center in Noordwijk. "We could start by targeting our
educational materials on exploration beyond the International Space
Station." The ISS--the home of the first permanent Amateur Radio station
in space--is scheduled for completion in 2010 using the space shuttle
fleet, which then would be mothballed.

Some ideas Bauer floated during the gathering included an Amateur Radio
payload on the Red Planet as well as a Mars telecommunications satellite,
remotely controlled Amateur TV and a repeater on the moon. The long-range
planning will get further discussion when the ARISS International Team
meets again in October.

In other matters, the ARISS team learned that a planned slow-scan
television (SSTV) system will not launch to the ISS this year. With just
two crew members aboard the space station and a need to make the most use
of space aboard Russian Progress supply rockets, NASA has suggested that
ARISS hold up the SSTV payload for a Progress rocket flight closer to the
space shuttle's return to flight, when the ISS again will have a crew of
three.

The two-person crews have not had much time to install and test ARISS
projects, including the Phase II gear put into place earlier this year.
While it's on the air for RS0ISS packet operations, the Phase II gear will
not see routine FM voice use for school group contacts and casual QSOs
until it gets a full on-the-air checkout. The SSTV gear needs additional
preflight testing as well as work on the associated software.

AMSAT-Russia's Karen Tadevosyan, RA3APW, is completing modifications to a
Yaesu FT-100 HF/VHF/UHF transceiver. That equipment could go up to the ISS
on a Progress rocket flight this fall. Other projects still in the
discussion stage include an external digital ATV transponder and beacon.
ARISS also is considering a project to use Amateur Radio via IRLP and/or
EchoLink to link to the ISS via the Internet.

The ISS could gain a third ham station once the European Space Agency's
Columbus module goes into space. Through-hull fittings, or "feedthroughs,"
are being installed for as many as eight coaxial cable runs, although
funding remains an issue. The feedthroughs would permit the module to
accommodate UHF, L and S-band operations possibly using patch-type
antennas being designed by ARISS volunteers.

ARISS delegates also recognized the achievements and contributions of Roy
Neal, K6DUE (SK), toward making the ARISS program a reality. Neal, a
former NBC News science correspondent and executive, died last August 15.

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The story of the Elser-Mathes cup appeared in the November 1969 issue of QST. In his article, "That Planet Mars QSO Cup," Col Fred Johnson Elser, W6FB, recalled meeting League founder Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, in the 1920s. He learned that Maxim had an interest in Mars and even owned a globe of "The Red Planet." Later, back in The Philippines--in 1928 under US jurisdiction--Elser was inspired by a visit with Philippines SCM Lt Cmdr Stanley Mathes, K1CY, to offer "a unique trophy" for the first two-way communication with Maxim's "pet planet," Mars.

The actual trophy selected by Elser and Mathes during a trip to Baguio is an example of Igorot native woodcarving. "The base symbolizes Earth and the seated figures are its inhabitants," Elser explained in QST. "The bowl is Mars, and the standing men are the amateurs who bridge the gap of space." The plate fastened to the cup includes space for the names, call signs, and dates of those who will fulfill the cup's eventual destiny.

*article from arrl.org
http://www2.arrl.org/news/stories/1999/12/07/1/