Mars. The Red Mirror

In recent years Mars has taken on special relevance in space exploration. But the red planet is not the new moon. The arrival of human beings on Mars is not framed within a context of cold war and propaganda: being the first to reach the Moon seemed almost the only objective. This CCCB exhibition also goes further and addresses, through different approaches and disciplines, our relationship with Mars from ancient times to today. Science, art and literature interact in a great exhibition project that investigates our condition and future as a species, and that also coincides with the arrival of three space missions that will renew our knowledge of the Red Planet. We refer to the Hope Mars of the United Arab Emirates (which entered the Martian orbit on February 9 of this year), the Tianwen-1 of China (which did so a day later and will attempt to land its lander in the spring ) and the United States' Mars 2020 (expected to reach the surface of Mars on February 18 this year).

Beyond Space Exploration

Since the earliest civilizations, Mars has been a mirror, metaphor and source of inspiration for humans. "Mars. The red mirror", structured in three large sections (Mars in the ancient cosmos, Science and fiction in the Red Planet and Mars in the Anthropocene), displays the multiple stories that have been generated around Mars, since ancient times , going through current science and research, to the impact that the Martian imaginary has had on fiction. The exhibition incites us to reflect by turning the Red Planet into a source of knowledge about one of the most pressing problems of our time for human life: the climate crisis. Should we focus on Earth or is it imperative to put all our efforts on a planet B?

Parallel activities

Around the exhibition orbit, never better said, an extensive program of activities that begins on Thursday, February 18, a week before the opening of the exhibition, with the commented broadcast from the CCCB website of the arrival of the rover on Mars Perseverance of the Mars 2020 mission. This event will provide keys and informative data to understand the impact of the Mars 2020 mission (NASA) and will connect live with experts involved in what is already one of the space milestones in history.

Notice to space explorers: free admission by appointment from February 25 to 28.