Anyone that has stood outside the main entrance of the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry will already be familiar with Luke Jerram’s artwork. The colourful, stained-glass installation, The Palm Temple, is a mesmerising permanent piece by the internationally renowned. Worth seeking out yourself. But you’ll have to be quick to spot the Bristol-based artist’s latest installation, a model of Mars, in Bristol.
Mars is the third of his inflatable astronomical installations, following the legendary Museum of the Moon and Gaia. Measuring seven metres, at an approximate scale of 1:1 million, this floating model of Mars isn’t quite a big as the real thing. But it’s still pretty huge!
The sphere features detailed NASA imagery of the Red Planet, while each centimetre of the internally lit sculpture represents 10 kilometres of the Martian surface. On May 4 – June 5, visitors to Aerospace Bristol will get the chance to see Mars by Luke Jerram in person as part of its new Journey to Mars exhibition. You’ll see every valley, crater, volcano and mountain of the Red Planet, as you float around and look down at Mars like a satellite.
This temporary exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of Mars Express, Europe’s first mission to Mars. Elsewhere at the exhibition, you’ll be able to see models of both The Mars Express Orbiter and the Beagle 2 Mars Lander.
The orbiter has successfully performed scientific measurements on Mars since early 2004. While the Beagle 2, led by Bristol-born scientist Colin Pillinger, was intended to look for evidence of life on Mars. It went missing shortly before it was due to land, however. It wasn’t seen again until 2015 when it was located on Mars’ surface.
To learn more about Journey to Mars at Aerospace Bristol head here.