Talks and shows

Moms on Mars

How could material science help us create a functioning society on Mars? Royal Society Book Prize winner Kelly Weinersmith and fellow nominee Cat Bohannon explore all in this ground-breaking science-comedy-fashion show.

Image of astronaut on Mars
Pixabay

Mars: humanity’s next moonshot? Or massive, expensive, ethically complicated suck pile? Let’s find out! 

Everyone seems to think building a colony on Mars is our generation’s moonshot. But very few admit what that means: we’re asking female astronauts to be obligate reproducers. (At best, lab rats, at worst, brood mares.  Let’s call a spade a spade.) But more importantly, Mars has only 38% of Earth’s gravity, and the human body has long evolved to live—and make babies!—on Earth. So what does it really look like to be pregnant, give birth, and nurse babies on Mars? 

New York Times bestselling authors Cat Bohannon (Eve) and Kelly Weinersmith (A City on Mars) present a science comedy fashion show, in which fashion models will present wearables on a hilarious science-focused catwalk. Each piece will be designed in collaboration with Cat, Kelly, and a prominent feminist artist, using the latest leading-edge scientific research to model what pregnant and postpartum bodies really need to make it on Mars. As each model presents her piece, Cat and Kelly will talk about what it is, why it exists, and how some of the weird science behind low G, high-radiation environments are helping us better understand how female bodies actually work on this planet (something we’re sadly still catching up on, thanks). The science will be accurate, the jokes will cut, and the art will be fresh and feminist. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Event type

This is a theatre only event where the speakers and audience are together in our Theatre.

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For any queries regarding this event please get in touch by phone 020 7409 2992 or email events@ri.ac.uk.

About Cat Bohannon

Cat Bohannon

Cat Bohannon is a researcher and author with a PhD from Columbia University, where she studied the evolution of narrative cognition. Her first book, Eve, listed for the Orwell Prize, the Women's Prize, and the Royal Society Prize, is a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 25 languages so far, which is paying for all the extra therapy that requires.

About Kelly Weinersmith

Kelly Weinersmith

Kelly Weinersmith received her PhD in Ecology at the University of California Davis and teaches at Rice University. Her research in parasites has been featured in The Atlantic, National Geographic, BBC World, Science, and Nature. She’s written two books with her husband, Zach, both New York Times bestsellers, and was awarded a Hugo Award and the Royal Society Prize in 2024.

Timing

Doors to the theatre will open at 6.45pm and the talk will begin at 7.00pm.

Accessibility

The event will take place on the first floor and there is step-free access from the street via lift.

The closest underground station is Green Park, which is step-free.

There is space at floor level in the theatre for wheelchair users.

Seating is usually unreserved for our events. If you and your group require seating reservations, please do let us know by emailing us at events@ri.ac.uk, and we’ll be more than happy to help.

Carers can receive a free ticket to an event by emailing events@ri.ac.uk.

Our theatre is equipped with an Audio Induction Loop. 

Event terms and conditions