This autumn, we invite you to a series of selected Thursday evenings combining popular science talks with fascinating planetarium shows in Wisdome Umeå. Curiosum Space is aimed at an adult audience and offers immersive experiences that invite you to see the universe – and our place in it – from new perspectives.
Is there life on Mars? And how could we detect it? Join researchers Merve Yeşilbaş and Zoey Asimaki as they explore the history of Mars exploration and the search for life on the Red Planet. After the lecture, enjoy an immersive planetarium show at Wisdome Umeå, focusing on Mars.
Please note: The lecture will be held in English.
▷ Free entry!
18:00 Lecture: What Might Life on Mars Really Look Like? (Merve Yeşilbaş, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, and Zoey Asimaki, PhD student at the Department of Chemistry, Umeå University)
When we imagine aliens, we often picture strange creatures with big eyes and spaceships. But what if life beyond Earth looks nothing like that? What if it is microscopic and hidden in rocks?
Our journey will also take us into their laboratory in Umeå, where three of Earth’s most extraordinary microorganisms, a black fungus, an Antarctic bacterium and a cyanobacterium, are quietly teaching us what to look for on another planet.
Could Mars once have been home to life? And how would we find it?
Please note: The lecture will be held in English.
(approx. 40 mins)
19:00 Planetarium show in Wisdome: Humanity’s Exploration of Space (approx. 30 mins)
You can reserve your place free of charge via the link below. You may choose to attend the full programme or individual sessions. Tickets must be collected no later than 15 minutes before the start of each session. Unclaimed tickets will be released for drop-in visitors.
▷ Reserve your seat by clicking here.
Merve Yeşilbaş is a researcher at Umeå University who studies how water and minerals may help create conditions for life on Mars. By investigating extreme environments on Earth, from Antarctica to volcanic regions, she seeks to understand which traces of life can be preserved in rocks and minerals. Using spectroscopy and data from spacecraft, she is investigating one of the major questions in astrobiology: Is there, or has there ever been, life on Mars?
Zoey Asimaki is a PhD student conducting her research in Merve Yeşilbaş’s research group at Umeå University, where she contributes to exploring the conditions that could support life on Mars.
Welcome to us!
Curiosum Science Center
We are open 10 AM–4 PM on weekends, public holidays and school holidays, Wednesday evenings 5–9 PM, Fridays 1–4 PM and selected Thursday evenings. For programme details, opening hours and prices, please visit www.curiosum.umu.se.
Curiosum is for curious minds of all ages. Children visiting Curiosum on their own, without an accompanying adult, must be at least 13 years old.
