ESA PR 48-2001. The European Space Agency's TEACH SPACE 2001 Education Conference has become even more attractive for Europe's teachers. The first International Space Station Conference in Europe for teachers will be held between Friday 26 and Sunday 28 October at the European Space Agency's ESTEC centre in Noordwijk in the Netherlands.

Teachers in every discipline are invited to come and exchange practical ideas on how the International Space Station -- the largest international project of all time - can inspire their students. Once completed, the 450-tonne ISS will have more than 1200 cubic metres of pressurised space - enough room for seven crew and a vast array of scientific experiments orbiting around 400 km above the Earth.

TEACH SPACE 2001 is designed to help European teachers use the ISS as a classroom resource, linking their students to the excitement and inspiration of the high frontier - where European technology is already making a vital contribution. The children of today are future scientists, engineers and space explorers. With the number of students studying sciences decreasing at a steady rate it is crucial that young people are inspired and motivated to become more involved in these fields and TEACH SPACE 2001 can help teachers do just that.

To make the conference even more accessible to Europe's teachers, ESA is now offering subsidies as a minimum of € 200 towards teachers' accommodation and travel costs. Participants are requested to register by October 19, and the conference agenda is now more appealing than ever.

Participants will encounter Europe's own astronauts, who will give a presentation and be available throughout the conference. A European astronaut will guide teachers through a "virtual tour" of the space station, and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

TEACH SPACE 2001 will include presentations by ESA representatives from the agency's different directorates:

• Earth Observation: meteorology and agriculture from space
• Life and Physical Sciences: medicine, industry and the environment
• Space exploration: the way ahead in the solar system

There will be an exhibition of projects, materials and publications currently available: hands-on projects designed for the classroom for teachers and by teachers. And there will be working group sessions in which teachers can exchange ideas and tell ESA the kind of educational material they need and expect in the future.

Media representatives wishing to attend the opening session on the 26 October (1:00 p.m.) are kindly requested to fill out and return the attached registration form (please see link on right of page).

More information on the conference and how to enter projects can be found on:
http://www.estec.esa.nl/TEACHSPACE_2001/

For more information on the TEACH SPACE 2001 conference please contact Barber Uijl at:
Tel: + 31 71 565 4626
E-mail: Barber.Uijl@esa.int