asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what research and development work he is doing in the field of multi-scanning techniques from aircraft;(2) what research he is doing into aerial surveying and interpretation of data gained from aerial surveying.

The Department is not directly engaged in research into surveying techniques from aircraft. However, a research project is being financed at Bedford College, University of London, which involves the analysis of multi-spectral photography and infra-red linescan imagery taken from aircraft. This project, the main objective of which is mineralogical, is of potential relevance to the development of remote sensing techniques for surveying earth resources from space.