Hypatia Mars, in its efforts dedicated to promoting space exploration and scientific research, is leading CatMart, an ambitious educational project involving nearly one thousand students across Catalonia in the search for life on Mars. Through this initiative, students aged 6 to 12 from schools across Catalonia analyse simulated «Martian» soil samples collected by the Hypatia I crew during their 2023 analogue mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, USA.
The CatMart project offers classroom audiovisual materials and interactive content to guide students through the experimental process of investigating potential life on Mars. As part of the project, members of the Hypatia I crew will visit participating schools during Science Week, from November 8th to 17th, 2024, to engage students and present influential female scientists as role models, aiming to foster early interest in scientific careers, especially among young girls.
Dr. Laia Ribas, a biologist and analogue astronaut from Hypatia I, has developed the “CatMart” outreach project. Ribas, who is also a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) and leads the Repro Immune Team (RIT), crafted the project with support from the competitive grant “Joan Oró 2024” from the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI) and the collaboration of the Department of Education and Professional Training of the Generalitat de Catalunya and its STEAMcat Program. With CatMart, Hypatia Mars is set to inspire the next generation by bringing space exploration into the classroom and sparking curiosity in young minds across Catalonia.
