The similarities between the volcanoes of La Palma and Mars will be the central theme of the talk by Julene Aramendia, a researcher in astrobiogeochemistry and doctor in Analytical Chemistry from the University of the Basque Country, with which the Cabildo of La Palma will resume the Vocaciones Científicas programme on the 15th.

Organised by the Department of Culture, Education and Heritage and the public company Sodepal, this cycle is organised with the participation of the Benahoarita Archaeological Museum and the Teatro Cine Chico Municipal de Santa Cruz de La Palma and will be held on Wednesday, from 19:30 hours, at the Palacio Salazar in the capital of La Palma.

The Councillor for Culture, Education and Heritage, Pablo Díaz Cobiella, emphasised that with this type of action "the aim is to encourage young people's interest in science, by supporting leading figures in this field who can provide information on aspects of interest and which, moreover, have a direct connection with the reality of the island".

For her part, the CEO of Sodepal, Miriam Perestelo, stressed the added value of this initiative, since, she explained, "in addition to learning first-hand about the experiences of top-level scientists, it allows synergies to be generated and progress to be made in the development of collaborations with a view to launching new research projects on the island".

The head of the programme, Antonio González, emphasised that from Sodepal "we continue to promote scientific vocations. With this particular action, we also give prominence to the tourist centres and, above all, attract important popularisers to La Palma". He also stressed the importance of recovering these programmes that allow young people to have references in the scientific field.

For his part, the Heritage inspector, Jorge Pais, is taking part in the programme, showing Julene Aramendia the island's heritage resources. "This collaboration will allow us to clarify many questions that were still pending and open up new avenues of investigation", he explains.

The researcher Julene Aramendia, member of the NASA's MARS2020 and ESA's Rosalind Franklin missions, which study the surface of the planet Mars, explained that "I am surprised by the amount of unique samples to investigate" and thanked the predisposition of the island council. "The methodologies of space research and historical heritage are the same, and in La Palma there are endless possibilities to exploit. They are two worlds that go hand in hand," added Aramendia.

Julene Armendia's participation in the Scientific Vocations cycle will be completed with the holding of seven talks to students from educational centres on the island, as well as a meeting with the guides of the Caños de Fuego Interpretation Centre.

On the other hand, during his stay in La Palma, Armendia will hold different meetings that may be of interest for his line of work. In this sense, he will meet with agents from the Historical Heritage Department of the Cabildo and will visit various archaeological sites, as well as the La Palma Tourist Centre Network, the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory and the San Antonio Volcano Visitor Centre.