16 December 2003

Lord Sainsbury outlines three-year space strategy

Science Minister Lord Sainsbury has today unveiled the government's three-year space strategy, citing the Beagle 2 Mars lander as a "benchmark" for the UK's ambitions in space.

As the British-built lander prepares for the final stages of its journey to the Red Planet, the government has unveiled its UK Space Strategy which calls for close partnership between researchers and commercial companies to open up "new opportunities" in areas such as telecommunications and global positioning systems.

Worldwide, the market for Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology is forecast to grow by 85% from 2001 to 2007. This will have a major impact on our every day lives as the technology is increasingly used in areas such as in-car navigation, aviation safety and location-based personal navigation services, the government said.

A study last year into the size and health of the UK industry showed that turnover had increased by 17% to £2.9 billion with employment up 14%.

The three-pronged strategy calls for: enhancement of the UK's standing in astronomy, planetary and environmental sciences; promoting the use of space in government, science and commerce; and, developing space technologies to deliver improvement to quality of life for Britons.

The strategy is primarily focused on the next three years, but for the first time it also sets out the long-term perspective to 2015.

Lord Sainsbury said: "A key objective to this strategy is to build on the UK's outstanding record of scientific discovery. Space is recognised as one of the essential tools that will help us understand the Earth, the Solar System and the Universe."

The Beagle 2 lander, part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express Mission, is designed to look for signs of life on Mars. It will be ejected from the Mars Express orbiter on December 19 and parachute down to the surface of the planet on Christmas Day.

On touchdown, it will deploy its robotic arm which includes a mole to burrow into the ground and collect soil samples. Samples harvested here will be analysed for signs of past and present biological activity using the lander's innovative Gas Analysis Package (GAP) developed by the Open University.

(gmcg)