N° 8–1998: Present and future ESA/UK space activities: Press conference in London on 16 March.

The press conference will take place immediately after Mr Battle officially opens the Science, Engineering and Technology exhibition which marks the beginning of the Science, Engineering and Technology week where Research councils and Government departments will be exhibiting new technologies and demonstrating new initiatives.

The press conference will take place at the DTI Conference Centre, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H0ET. Press activities will start at 9:15 am.

Media representatives wishing to attend are kindly requested to complete the attached accreditation form and to fax it back to the British National Space Centre (BNSC) Press Office in London, on fax. + 44 171 215 0936.

ESA at Oceanology International '98 - 10-13 March, Brighton. ESA will be present at an exhibition during the Oceanology International '98 conference (10-13 March at the Brighton Metropole) and will show Earth Observation satellite applications and User Services, in particular those of the ERS satellites which have paved the way for a new generation of global ocean observing systems.

The ERS satellites are amongst the most successful Earth Observation programmes ever developed, providing all-weather, day and night, high resolution radar images of the earth's surface as well as global and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds, waves, temperatures and topography. As a result of worldwide achievements in scientific research and applications developed over the last few years under the ERS Announcements of Opportunity and Calls for Application demonstration projects, new innovative marine information services are now becoming available, examples of which will be presented on the ESA stand.

Information will also be available on the new Announcement of Opportunity open until 31 May for projects which will exploit the full potential of ESA's new generation of Earth Observation satellites, Envisat-1 to be launched at end 1999. Envisat-1 will provide new sets of observation of the earth's atmosphere and marine biology, as well as continuity with the ERS measurements, providing coherent data sets which may extend over a period as long as 15 years, thus offering an unprecedented opportunity for studies of long-term environmental problems and climate issues, and a solid basis for the development of operational and commercial applications. For information before 6 March please call ESA/ESRIN, Tel: +39-6-94180951 From 9-13 March please call the ESA stand at OI '98, B332, Tel: +39-335-8245543

For more information on ESA, visit our Internet site at: http://www.esa.int