Malaspina Project 2010 received further recognition as he continues his research and scientific publication in the mainland.

Carlos M. Duarte (CSIC-UIB IMEDEA), Project Director, and Juan Antonio Aguilar (Captain of the Hesperides, Spanish Navy) collected the award yesterday in Madrid

For seven months of navigation and with more than 32,000 nautical miles explored, more than 400 scientists around the world have participated in the Malaspina 2010 project and have collect more than 120,000 air, water, gas, and plankton samples in the Atlantic, the Indian and the Pacific. With these samples, the researchers will prepare reference collections for the international scientific community. These are the reasons why the Spanish Geographic Society (SGE) has decided to award the prize year's trip to the Malaspina Expedition 2010Malaspina Expedition 2010, led by the National Research Council (CSIC) and directed by Carlos M. Duarte, CSIC researcher professor at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (CSIC-UIB, IMEDEA.

The delivery of the Prize took place on March 28^th, in Madrid. A representation of the expedition integrated by researchers from the different institutions that participate in the Project and members of the Spanish Navy attended the ceremony.

The Malaspina 2010 project is a CONSOLIDER-INGENIO research program, led by the CSIC, which the participation of the Spanish Navy and the BBVA Foundation. The navigation phase in the vessels Hespérides, from the Spanish Navy, and Sarmiento de Gamboa, from the CSIC, has now ended, and the Project goes on with the research and dissemination phases.

While the scientists analyze the samples, other materials are turning up and scientific culture  activities are being organized in order to bring the work of the researchers to citizenship. Such is the case of the exhibition  “Spain explores. Malaspina 2010”, which can be visited until March, 31^st, at the Royal Botanical Gardens (Madrid), as well as the expedition chronicle, by Santos Casado, published recently by the CSIC and “Los Libros de la Catarata”.  The BBVA Foundation has produced an informative DVD for education use about the expedition.   The book “Las corbetas del Rey”, written by Andrés Galera, historian of the CSIC who has participated in the Malaspina 2010 expedition, was published in 2010. The collection is completed with the comic published by the publishing company “Catarata Libros” and the expedition plates “Historical Malaspina”, produced by the Spanish Naval Museum and the BBVA Foundation.