TWO joint university business ventures in space technology have won government Foresight backing, John Battle, minister for science, industry and energy, announced this week. One is a project involving Nottingham University and the Institute of Hydrology which aims to harness satellite technology to improve the management of water resources. The second is a venture involving Surrey University to boost satellite-to-ground communications. The awards provide 50 per cent funding towards projects bringing together business and the science base to work on projects meeting Space Foresight criteria.