Outer space seems not so far away thanks to the work of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council PPARC to you and me which celebrates its 10th anniversary today. ANTHONY OSBORNE reports

TWO Swindon research councils are marking their 10th anniversary today.

The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Coun-cil and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which are based at North Star, were once part of the Science and Engineering Research Council.

But following a government White Paper published in 1994 SERC was split into EPSRC and PPARC.

PPARC has been at the forefront of British science projects, funding scientists and experiments into astronomy, space science and particle physics.

EPSRC plays an important role as the UK's leading funding agency for research and training in engineering and the physical sciences including chemistry, information technology and physics.

PPARC is headed by Professor Ian Halliday, while his counterpart at EPSRC is Professor Julia Higgins.

Prof Halliday said: "It has been an incredible 10 years for PPARC with UK scientists at the forefront of many significant discoveries, contributing to our understanding of the universe.

"By the very nature of the science the more answers found the more questions are generated."

In the past decade, PPARC has been involved in a huge range of experiments from involvement in putting the Beagle 2 space probe on Mars to trying to find dark matter at the bottom of a working Potash mine in Yorkshire.

Under its astronomy arm, PPARC is involved with the European Southern Observatory, which the UK joined in July 2002.

The observatory, which is located in Chile, is equipped with a large telescope, which has been used by 90 UK astronomers who have used it to capture stunning images of the far reaches of the Universe.

In the future, the UK will also benefit from involvement in the Atacama Large Millimetre Array a network of 64 12-metre telescopes also in Chile.

PPARC also plays a leading role in the operation of the Gemini telescopes with one in Hawaii and a second in Chile.

They provide astronomers with extremely sharp views of the universe allowing them to see through the cosmic dust that obscures star forming regions and violent galaxies to reveal the inner secrets of stellar birth and mysteries of the galaxy.

Although Britain does not have a space programme like that of the Russians or the Americans, it still plays a key role in exploration working with the European Space Agency.

As a result, the UK has participated in the Cluster mission to investigate the solar wind, Rosetta the mission to chase comets and Mars Express and Beagle 2 to Mars.

Later this year, the space probe Cassini-Huygens will arrive in Saturn's orbit. The Huygens probe will then be released in Decem-ber to land on the planet's moon, Titan in 2005.

Much closer to home, PPARC pays the UK's contribution to CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is here where some of the smallest particles in the universe are detected and experimented on using massive machines.

One experiment called Atlas is being constructed in an underground cavern in Switzerland which is big enough to fit Canterbury Cathedral inside.

Looking back at the projects the organisation has undertake over the past decade, Prof Halliday said: "It has been a fascinating 10 years and I think in terms of public interest, the Beagle 2 project has really captured the imagination but the one that has benefited the most people is probably the internet which was developed further by scientists at CERN in Geneva.

"We are always looking at what we should explore or investigate next."

Anthony Osborne