PUPILS at a Barrhead school are bracing themselves for an out-of-this-world experience.

Veteran NASA astronaut Brian Duffy is set to visit Cross Arthurlie Primary next week.

Children at the Fern Drive school will listen to the US Astronaut Hall of Fame inductee as he delivers a special presentation, along with a team from the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) in Florida.

The event is part of a promotional campaign being run in partnership with Barrhead Travel.

The travel firm was approached by representatives from KSC, the main launch centre of human spaceflight, which is looking to attract more UK holidaymakers to its visitor complex near Orlando.

Asked to select a school for a unique meet-and-greet session with Brian, an astronaut who has served on four Space Shuttle flights, Barrhead Travel chose to look close to home.

Youngsters at Cross Arthurlie Primary will have the chance to ask the 63-year-old about his experiences during a question-and-answer assembly on Friday, March 3.

Brian became an astronaut in 1986, logging 40 days and 17 hours in space before retiring in 2000.

Serving as both a pilot and commander, he clocked up over 5,000 hours of flight time in more than 25 different types of aircraft.

In his final mission, Brian helped to prepare the International Space Station for its first resident crew.

His appearance at Cross Arthurlie Primary will coincide with a press conference held at Barrhead Travel’s Oswald Street superstore in Glasgow.

Karen Musgrave, senior public relations and communications executive at Barrhead Travel, said: “We will be bringing the Kennedy team to Cross Arthurlie Primary School on March 3 for a special assembly.

“Brian Duffy will give a short presentation and then open up to a Q&A session, as well as photo opportunities.

“As our roots are in Barrhead and many of our staff and their children attended the primary, it was the natural choice to take this exciting project to the school.

“We had quite a few people in our admin team from Barrhead that went to Cross Arthurlie Primary and their children do now.

“We work closely with the space centre because it’s a huge attraction for families going to Florida, which is one of our most popular destinations.

“They’re coming over as part of their own programme to promote the space centre within Scotland and they have chosen us as a partner.

“The children will enjoy a presentation plus have time for questions, with some goodies provided.”