ARISS Europe Application Form Instructions

Last update 05.01.2025

Congratulations on taking the first step toward a rewarding experience for your entire school!

The ARISS program requires each school to submit an application which must be approved before the school can be scheduled for a contact. The school is asked to design a science and space oriented educational proposal which will be taken into account for the approval of the application. 

Please read these instructions before filling out the application. See sidebar to download the application.

1. Decide if your school will apply for a "direct" or a "telebridge" contact.
   • If selecting a "telebridge" contact, fill out the application with the exception of section 6.
   • If you wish to do a "direct" contact, then also fill out section 6. Review the current Ground Station recommendations.
2. Complete the application form.  Prepare your school's educational proposal. The educational proposal should include information on how your school will:
   • integrate this activity into the school curriculum.
   • involve as many grade levels as you can (essay contests, planning a Mars outpost, learning to track the ISS, learning about basic circuit boards, poster drawing, letter writing). 
   • obtain as much media coverage as possible.
3. The application is submitted online, attaching the Authorisation and use of personal information form duly signed in PDF file and the school calendar in excel file (see sidebar). Application form submitted as image or pdf-image file are NOT accepted. For the ARISS-Europe Region, comprising Africa and the Middle East, Applications shall be submitted via ARISS-Europe website (see sidebar).
4. The information that you supply, including names and contact numbers of those involved form your organization will be held in confidence.  In compliance with GDPR and to privacy laws on the retention and the processing of personal information, the applicants shall complete and sign the authorization statement at the end of section A (Authorisation and use of personal information). ONLY this form page signed shall be scanned and uploaded jointly the online application form.
5. An e-mail message will be sent to you confirming the receipt of your application.  An e-mail message will advise you if your application was accepted for further processing, or the reason(s) it was rejected.  If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation within three weeks please resubmit the application.  If an e-mail address does not work, please forward your application to any of the other coordinators.
6. Continued communication with ARISS is to be done by e-mail to facilitate exchange of information.
7. The application will be placed in a queue. Approximately 6 - 12 months before the contact occurs, an ARISS mentor will be assigned to the school.
8. When a contact date and time has been assigned to you, ARISS will notify you via e-mail.  Please reply immediately and acknowledge receipt of that message.
9. Make sure that a signed NASA photo/audio/video/Web site ARISS Release Form is submitted by each student's parent or guardian.
10. The ARISS school mentor will guide you through the contact preparations.

Disclaimer:  Neither the ARISS program nor NASA can be held liable in any manner if a scheduled radio contact is not performed. Space operation constraints may force a last minute cancellation.  The ARISS contact is an experiment and as such the results of the experiment are not known until the experiment is over.