The Queen’s and Kingston community is invited to a one-of-a-kind event in Canada.

The Ask an Astronaut: Educational Downlink event set to launch on Friday, April 6, will feature a 20-minute NASA Educational Downlink with astronaut and Queen’s alumnus Andrew (Drew) Feustel (PhD’95), live from the International Space Station. The space-to-Queen’s conversation will last 20 minutes, during which selected members of the Queen’s and Kingston community will ask their questions about space, researching aboard the International Space Station, and the journey to become an astronaut.

There will be plenty of action before the downlink, featuring presentations from experts across a wide range of space-related specialties, including Nobel Laureate Arthur McDonald, NASA Postdoctoral Fellow and Planetary Scientist Michelle Thompson (Artsci’11, Sc’11), Nathalie Ouellette (MSc’12, PhD’16) of the Canadian Particle Astrophysics Research Centre (CPARC), and Nandini Deshpande from the School of Rehabilitation Therapy.

Other festivities include astronaut cut-outs to take a photo with Dr. Feustel or as an astronaut in space, signing banners to wish Dr. Feustel luck, and tables featuring displays from Graduate Studies and the Queen’s Reduced Gravity group.

Doors open at Grant Hall at 10:30 am and seats will be limited. There are three additional locations that will offer a livestream of the event when Grant Hall fills to capacity at the Athletics and Recreation Centre Student Lounge, Goodes Hall Commons, and in the Faculty of Education on west campus.

The event will be broadcasted on NASA TV and streamed on the Queen’s website and on Facebook live. To view the livestream on your computer or phone, register through the Queen’s Research page.

Check out the Queen’s Facebook page for more information about the event.