IAPS Martian analogue samples at the civic museum of zoology in Rome

From 22 March to 21 July 2024, the Museo Civico di Zoologia in Rome is hosting the exhibition Oltre lo spazio, oltre il tempo. Il sogno di Ulisse Aldrovandi (The Dream of Ulisse Aldrovandi), an exhibition dedicated to the Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi that aims to make us reflect on the relationship between man and nature and the role of science in understanding the world around us. The exhibition includes drawings, sculptures, watercolours and treatises on monsters and supernatural prodigies, as well as a number of similar Martian samples collected and curated by IAPS researchers Marco Ferrari and Alessandro Frigeri, and materials from the Inaf headquarters in Bologna (OAS) and the ESA.

All information on opening hours and tickets can be found on the exhibition webpage.




(Sample displayed in the exhibition and collected in the Rio Tinto area in Spain. Each lamella could represent a cycle of sedimentation and colonisation of bacteria. © Alessandro Frigeri)



(Pebble collected on the bed of the Rio Tinto river in Spain. It represents a Martian analogue for the process of acid alteration of rocks, which on Mars led to the formation of sulphates © Marco Ferrari)