Mike Barratt, Expedition 19 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, set up and activated a new camera Monday that will provide timely images that farmers, ranchers and foresters can use to better manage their crops and livestock.

The Agricultural Camera (AgCam) will take visible light and infrared images of the Earth below, principally of growing crops, rangeland, grasslands, forests, and wetlands in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States.

The images will be delivered - in just one to two days -- to requesting farmers, ranchers, foresters, natural resource managers and tribal officials to help improve their environmental stewardship of the land for which they are responsible. Images will also be shared with educators for classroom use. The Agricultural Camera was built and will be operated primarily by students and faculty at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND.

Topics in this report:
1. Upcoming School Contacts
2. Finnish School Contact Successful
3. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News
4. ARRL Public Service Announcement
5. ARISS Presentations at Dayton Hamvention
6. ARISS News in the ARRL Letter

1. Upcoming School Contacts
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for St. Edward School in Ashland, Ohio, U.S.A. on Monday, April 20 at 16:36 UTC. The ARISS contact has been integrated into the science curriculum which covers topics on satellite images, global positioning of satellites, telescopes, and radio waves. Students read science related books and poems, conducted informational internet searches, wrote stories and informational articles, interviewed amateur radio operators, and studied and applied science and math objectives. Media coverage is expected.