TISCALI AND ESA TO WEBCAST THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST EUROPEAN MISSION TO MARS LIVE ON TISCALI PORTALS

Cagliari / Paris 30th May 2003 – Tiscali, the Internet Communication Company, and ESA, the European Space Agency, announce the live webcast of the launch of the first European mission to the Red Planet on Tiscali portals, on Monday June 2nd 2003 at 19.45 CET. Starting from 19.15 all Internet users will be able to experience free the exciting launch of ESA’s Mars Express from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, simply by visiting Tiscali’s special dedicated area on http://esa.tiscali.com.

Europe's first mission to the Red Planet will reach its target in December 2003, after a six-month journey when the Mars-Lander Beagle 2 will be ejected to the planet surface. Mars Express will help scientists answer questions about the Martian landscape, atmosphere and the origin of life that remain open.

The live webcast dedicated area on http://esa.tiscali.com will also feature a wide range of official materials such as in-depth information on the mission, the photogallery and exclusive interviews with ESA specialists. The high quality of the streaming will be guaranteed by Tiscali’s Content Delivery Network in close cooperation with http://www.capcave.com, ESA’s usual web streaming provider.

About Tiscali
Tiscali S.p.A., (Nuovo Mercato, Milan: TIS, Nouveau Marché, Paris: 005773), is the Internet Communication Company providing access, content and business applications, as well as innovative communications services. As of 31 March 2003, Tiscali had 7.6 million active users and 15.2 million monthly unique visitors (source: Nielsen NetRatings) to the Tiscali portals, confirming the company as one of the leading web properties in Europe. Tiscali's corporate website can be found at

http://www.tiscali.com

For further information:

Tiscali

Gianluca Nonnis, nonnis@tiscali.com

Image & PR Manager, Tiscali Corporate

Tiscali UK PR & Communications Manager

Jody Haskayne

Jody.haskayne@uk.tiscali.com

Tiscali UK Limited

Tel: +44 (0)20 7087 2115



Image Building (Tiscali Press Office)

Tel +39 0289011300

Simona Vecchies, s.vecchies@imagebuilding.it

Elisa Lavagna, e.lavagna@imagebuilding.it

About ESA

THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) is a multi-national organisation whose mission is to provide for and promote the peaceful exploitation of space science, research, technology and applications.

As a global partner with other international agencies, ESA participates in space missions and conducts research & development that support the scientific community. And as a multi-national European organisation, ESA also executes missions, and maintains long-term space and industrial policies that are specifically in the interest of its member countries.

More on ESA Mars Express at: http://www.esa.int/marsexpresslaunch

For further information:

Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin

Head of Corporate Communication Office

ESA/ESOC

Tel. 0049 6151 902696

Mail: jocelyne.landeau-constantin@esa.int

http://www.esa.int