New Cities Revealed datasets at Landmap
Image Streaming Service
TopSat global tasking
Q & A about the new Federated Access and Registration procedures

Landmap are also presenting in the morning session Mash-Ups and Applications: Understanding the changes of the intertidal bed at Morecambe Bay.

There will be information and sessions available to attend from other Mimas services e.g. JISC-funded Repositories, Intute, Web of Knowledge, Copac, Zetoc, Census Dissemination Unit, ESDS International and Archives Hub.

For more details please visit http://www.mimas.ac.uk/news/mof2008/programme/

If you would like to attend please register at:

• Monday 15 September – Boat trip around Falmouth ending at the National Maritime Museum for a hot buffet dinner
• Tuesday 16 September – Formal conference dinner at the Falmouth Hotel
• Wednesday 17 September – Informal BBQ event on campus

On-site accommodation in high quality halls of residence is available for booking from the website at a cost of £30 per room per night. These rooms have internet connections, ensuite bathrooms, and double beds. They are newly built and of superior quality. Breakfast is included. You can include your booking for this accommodation with your conference registration online. (Other hotels are available in the Falmouth area, please consult our website for links to alternative options.)

Direct trains connect London with Truro, from where buses and local branch line trains link to the campus. Cheap flights are also available to Newquay airport from the following carriers:

How can we turn the tide? How can we interest people in starting a career in, for example, land surveying, electronic charting, remote sensing, positioning or hydrographic surveying? As a publisher, we think this can be accomplished with a magazine, and associated website, focussed on young people at precisely that time when they are making decisions about their future career.

Young Geo Professional Magazine is published by Reed Business Geo.

SilviLaser 2008 will be the 8th international conference in a series focussing on applications of laser systems for forest assessment and inventory.

Further details are available at:

(1) “Return to the Moon – A UK Perspective” discussion paper ** Have Your Say
(2) ESA European Astronaut Selection ** opens 19 May 2008
(3) Mission Virgin Galactic ** National Schools Competition
(4) Competition ** Win a flight on SpaceShipTwo

The Space Group of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) organises a small number of public lectures and seminars on space-related topics each year at the Society’s headquarters at 4 Hamilton Place, London. Sometimes events are organised jointly with other institutions or companies, and held elsewhere across the UK. We also occasionally use our free email notification service to publicise other space-related events in which we believe our Space Group members may have a special interest.

We are pleased to seek your active participation in the following:

(1) “Return to the Moon – A UK Perspective” discussion paper ** Have Your Say **

The RAeS Space Group committee has published a new discussion paper on “Return to the Moon – A UK Perspective” with a view to sparking debate on that subject.

Those of you who are already members of the Royal Aeronautical Society will have seen the Discussion Paper in the May 2008 issue of the Society’s magazine “Aerospace Professional”.

The rationale for UK participation in robotic and human missions to the Moon is assessed. The science objectives are found to be strong, as is the use of the Moon as a test-bed for exploration beyond the Earth-Moon system. UK and international initiatives are reviewed, showing that the UK has extensive expertise to bring to bear. Recommendations for action by UK government are presented including the need for a sustainable programme of missions rather than a one-off, and the benefit of UK leadership of discrete and critical elements of any lunar project in order to attract public support.

This paper is the start of a Society initiative to help inform UK policy on the preferred options for UK participation in the Return to the Moon international initiative. The timing of our initiative seeks to build on ongoing events such as the Agreement between NASA and the UK on lunar missions, and the imminent selection of new ESA astronauts. The conclusions and recommendations attempt to be inspirational but also realistic.

The RAeS Space Group committee welcomes your comments on the issues raised in this paper and the recommendations made. Comments received will be incorporated into presentations and papers to be presented by RAeS officials and officers later this year.

Please send your comments to space@raes.org.uk preferably by 31 May 2008.

See full details at the RAeS Space Group web site http://www.raes.org.uk/space/ and click on “Return to the Moon – Have Your Say” near top right.

(2) ** ESA European Astronaut Selection ** opens 19 May 2008 **

ESA’s human spaceflight activities have entered a new era. It is now time for ESA to seek out new talent to bolster its Astronaut Corps for future manned missions to the ISS, the Moon and beyond.

Registration takes place online. The application website will be made available from Monday 19 May 2008. The closing date for applications is Sunday 15 June 2008.

ESA needs to regenerate the European Astronaut Corps, increasing its size in order to successfully accomplish its present and future programmes. The Agency has therefore decided to initiate this process of selecting new astronauts. Candidates from all 17 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) are welcome to apply.

The preferred age range is 27 to 37.

See full details at the RAeS Space Group web site http://www.raes.org.uk/space/ and click on “ESA European Astronaut Selection” near top right.

(3) ** Mission Virgin Galactic ** National Schools Competition **

The Royal Aeronautical Society, The Royal Air Force and Virgin Galactic launched “Mission Virgin Galactic” a truly innovative National Schools Competition.

Mission Virgin Galactic will be open to all 11-14 year old students (Key Stage 3) across the UK and has been designed with the backing of education experts to fit within and complement the national curriculum. The aim of the competition is to inspire pupils in the areas of science, maths, technology and engineering in a fun and exciting way.

Working in teams of four to six pupils, the challenge is to design a marketable product that demonstrates one or more of the science, technology or engineering principles used in the Virgin Galactic space tourism programme.

And the grand prize… the winning team and its teacher will be flown to the US as guests of Virgin Galactic where they will enjoy a tour of the Mojave spaceport and spend time chatting and learning from the engineers who have built WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. The winning team will get the chance to witness history in the making by getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a flight of SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic’s commercial spaceship. The team will be accompanied by Sir Richard Branson and have the chance to ask him first hand why he believes that one day space travel will be open to all.

2008-2009 will be the first year of Mission Virgin Galactic with the hope that by 2011 all UK schools will be signed up and be competing for this amazing prize. Going forward the plan will be to extend the competition to schools across America, Europe and the rest of the world with a Grand Draw (from all the winning teams in the pervious years) eventually being held to give the chance of a winning team to go to space!

See full details at the RAeS Space Group web site http://www.raes.org.uk/space/ and click on “Mission Virgin Galactic” near top right.

(4) ** Win a flight on SpaceShipTwo: a truly unforgettable experience **

Also to further publicise the announcement made on 07 June 2006 giving advance notice of a truly amazing competition:

“To be able to float around in zero-g, I wish everybody could experience this. The view is so hard to describe. It’s moving. It’s emotional.” John Glenn, Astronaut.

Through the generosity of Virgin Galactic, the Royal Aeronautical Society is delighted to offer our members the opportunity to win a ticket on SpaceShipTwo. Your chance to experience weightlessness and gain your Astronaut Wings. The winner will be the one who can most effectively demonstrate how they would use the experience of a SpaceShipTwo flight to best motivate young people to enter the fields of aerospace and its applications. Register your interest online at http://www.aerosociety.com/galactic/. You do not have to be a member to do so, but this will ensure you receive competition details early.

See preliminary details at the RAeS Space Group web site http://www.raes.org.uk/space/ and click on “Win a flight on SpaceShipTwo”.

“Cartography continues to thrive amid both the opportunities and challenges posed by developments in technology,” said Mary Spence, who was awarded an MBE for her contribution to map design, and is currently President of The British Cartographic Society. “This event is designed to give delegates the opportunity to learn about future developments and trends in mapping, debate the challenges facing cartography, gain practical experience and get involved with a friendly society that is committed to better mapmaking.”

The Mapping 2008: Making the Most of Maps conference programme features an impressive line up of industry experts who will give inspirational presentations on a diverse range of map related topics including representatives from the Royal Geographical Society, City University, Pitney Bowes MapInfo and the government’s Communities and Local Government.

In addition to the full programme of presentations delegates can also choose from a range of hands-on workshops. Topics include ‘Making the most of OS MasterMap’, ‘Applying the KISS principle for effective map communication’, ‘Get started in mapping!’ and ‘The trials and tribulations of map research’. Mapping 2008: Making the Most of Maps will also include all the favourite elements from over four decades’ of symposiums; the Map Curators’ Workshop including a visit to the RAF Military Intelligence Museum at Chicksands, special interest group meetings, a commercial exhibition, gala dinner and awards ceremony.

As part of the Association for Geographic Information (AGI) Continuing Professional Development Programme (CPD) and the Royal Geographical Society with IBG (RGS-IBG) Chartered Geographer scheme, delegates at Mapping 2008: Making the Most of Maps will be able to use their attendance as part of their annual training objective.

Mapping 2008: Making the Most of Maps is being organised on behalf of The British Cartographic Society, by Training 4 GIS, the training and consultancy division of The GeoInformation Group. Fiona Cocks, Training Director, commented “Last year’s new look was well received by delegates both old and new and, following an extensive consultation process, Mapping 2008: Making the Most of Maps hopes to build on this success.”

For further information visit www.cartography.org.uk or call the organisers on 01223 880077. BCS_Flyer_FINAL_v_low.pdf

This year the institutes run over two weeks, where attendance is available for either or both.

Week 1 (9-13 June): “The Geo-sensor Web” with topic leaders including Dr Mike Botts (Univ Alabama Huntsville and editor of the OGC’s Sensor Specification), Alexandre Robin (SPOT Image), Gilberto Camara (director Brazil Space
Agency-INPE) and (Vespucci co-founder) Prof. Antonio Camara (yDreams.com).

Week 2 (17-20 June): “GI Science supporting Virtual Globes” includes Dr Gilberto Camara, Ed Parsons (Google) and the welcome return of Prof. Mike Goodchild (U.California Santa Barbara), as well as the participation from founders Mike Gould, Werner Kuhn, Max Craglia and Cristina Capineri. Week 2 will follow on directly from a specialist meeting over the weekend and promises to be a groundbreaking event.

For further information and details of both week’s programmes please visit the Vespucci website: