Scratch+Sniff: Scents of outer space

Scratch+Sniff, which hosts a range of olfactory events, will debate this as well as exploring other smells and perfumes at the forthcoming event The Scent of Space.

Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, will discuss what the cosmos smells like, based on Nasa’s understanding of the material composition of an interstellar dust cloud, for example, or the gases that surround Venus.

The event will also look at the different perfumes that have been inspired by outer space.

‘The interesting thing about fragrance and olfaction is that it is an art and a science,’ says Odette Toilette, aka Lizzie Ostrom, founder of Scratch+Sniff. She says that the development of smell and how the senses work is technical, but that the creation of a fragrance is also an art, requiring creative work.

The Scent of Space will take place on 23 April at The Book Club in London and also on 27 June at The Royal Institution.

For more on how art is colliding with science, read our Re-enlightenment Rising.