A story inspired by Hypatia II, an all-female-led scientific mission that recreates what life on the Red Planet would be like.
‘Les Exploradores de Mart’ has just been published by Estrella Polar with the support of a 2025 FCRI Joan Oro Grant. This is the perfect book for families, schools and libraries looking to inspire the next generation of women scientists. Aimed at children aged 6–12 – the exact age when gender bias begins to form – the story shows real, relatable examples of female scientists and engineers living exciting adventures while doing cutting-edge science. Seeing these role models at this crucial stage can profoundly change the way girls perceive fields traditionally considered “male”.
The book is now on sale! You can find it in many bookstores across Catalonia, and you can also buy it online through the Hypatia Mars website. On the same page, you’ll find videos introducing the characters of the story, inspired by the real members of the Hypatia II crew, a scientific mission made up exclusively of women who carried out a simulated Mars mission.
The book was presented to children and adults on November 22 at CosmoCaixa, in an event that combined the reading of passages from the story with the experiences of the crew members, followed by a Q&A session where the youngest participants were able to speak with the analogue astronauts and protagonists of the story: Anna, Mònica, Estel, Helena, and Laura.
Book synopsis: On Mars, robots are busy collecting data about the Red Planet so that scientists on Earth have as much information as possible about this distant world. But a meteorite has just crashed into the antenna that connects Earth and Mars, and re-establishing communication has become urgent if research is to continue. To solve the crisis, the space agency has sent the all-female Hypatia II crew: Ariadna, Mònica, Estel, Marina, Anna, Helena and Jennifer. They will be in charge of repairing the antenna and restoring contact between the two planets. But the task won’t be easy at all. Along the way, they will have to face an unknown world full of challenges and dangers. Will they succeed?
Anna Bach Valls holds a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Barcelona. She currently works as a Product Manager in Barcelona’s tech industry, where she defines the vision, strategy and roadmap for digital products, ensuring they meet both customer needs and business goals. Anna also regularly creates comic strips that she shares on her Instagram page Annet Planet (@annetplanetcomics), which currently has 38,000 followers. Her comics follow a young woman working in an office and aim to highlight and celebrate the role of women in the professional world – always from a positive perspective and very often with a STEM focus.