An International Space Station Expedition 17 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants from the City of Ottawa Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 09 July. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:14 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and W6SRJ. The contact should be audible in western portions of North America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

The Canada Agriculture Museum in Ottawa is a unique combination farm and museum. The Museum offers animated bilingual interpretation which shows the making and tasting of foods such as ice cream, bread and butter. Other demonstrations present farming activities, including year-round animal care and spring sheep shearing. Visitors to the animal barns will see a collection of common farm animals, as well as several rare breeds. The Museum's Tractors exhibition and the exhibition on rural electrification of one hundred years ago bring the science of the past to life. The Canada Agriculture Museum - Where Knowledge Grows!

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1. What kind of animals have been brought to space?

2. Is it possible to grow food in space?

3. What planet would be the best for farming?

4. What plant would be the hardest to grow in space?

5. What would be the easiest plant to grow in space?

6. Do animals behave differently in space?

7. What are the difficulties of agriculture in space?

8. What is the difference between growing plants on earth and in space?

9. Do plants grow faster in space?

10. What is GPS technology, and how does it affect agriculture?

11. Do animals eat more in space than they do on earth?

12. Do plants grow upward in space?

13. Have you ever tried making bread in space and if so, does it rise differently?

14. What is your favorite farm animal and why?

15. How does GPS technology help farmers reduce the amount of fertilizers they apply in their fields?

16. What planet would be the hardest to grow food on?

17. Does food taste differently in space?

18. Do plants need more water in space?

19. What farm animal is least likely to survive in space?

20. Do things sound different in space, e.g. a dog barking?

Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact. Packet is transmitted on 145.825 simplex.

Next planned event(s):

Department of Astronomy & Space Sciences (DASS) at Kuwait Science Club, Safat, Kuwait, telebridge via WH6PN Mon 2008-07-14 17:05 UTC 45 deg

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73,

Stephen H. Ponder, N5WBI