An Expedition 19 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Mahopac Public Library, Mahopac, New York on 3 June. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:47 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and ON4ISS in Belgium. The contact should be audible over eastern Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact will be conducted in English.

The Mahopac Public Library has been supporting the community for over 50 years. It currently serves 6 public and 5 private schools in the area. The Putnam Emergency Amateur Radio League will be on hand to help coordinate the contact. Students participating in the contact represent Lakeview Elementary School, Mahopac Middle school and St. John the Evangelist School.

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

1. How fast are you going when you blast off and what does it feel like?

2. Is it fun to float in the aircraft?

3. Do you have ipods on the space station and if so, what are your favorite songs?

4. Do the stars in space look different than they do from earth?

5. Is it fun in space without gravity or do you like gravity better?

6. Do other planets have an atmosphere like the earth and can you see them better from the ISS?

7. What is it like living in space for such a long time?

8. What's the one mystery of space that you would like to discover?

9. When you are not working, what do you like to do, or are you always working?

10. I heard about Suni Williams running a marathon on the treadmill in space. Due to the weightlessness, is there a difference in the energy needed to run a mile?

11. What is the best thing that you have seen through the Hubble telescope?

12. Did anything weird ever happen to you on a space mission?

13. Are you able to watch TV?

14. Are you on a mission to find a new planet or are you just flying around?

15. Is it exciting when you're in space or do you get bored?

16. If a meteor hit the International Space Station, what would happen?

17. Is it sad to always be away from you family and friends? (maybe what do you miss most)

18. What is the coolest space tool that you use?

19. What are you working on right now and if it succeeds, what will it do?

20. What kind of training do you do in the pool at the Natural Buoyancy Laboratory that helped you prepare for space walks?

Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found at http://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact.

Next planned event(s):

1. Kawanishi Seiwadai comm. center, Hyogo, Japan, Sat 06Jun09 07:55 UTC

2. Tongfu Road No.1 Primary School, Guangzhou, Guangdong, P.R. China, Thu 11Jun09 08:24 UTC

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.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).

Thank you & 73,

David - AA4KN