Vision
Founder of Sanctuary
In addition to being an engineer, I have the distinction of being from Burgundy. An important detail. I grew up in the small town of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the Côte d'Or, better known for its wines than for its connection to the Moon. And yet, two lunar craters are associated with my hometown.
This incredible story began with the birth of Félix Tisserand in Nuits-Saint-Georges in 1845. His contribution to our understanding of comets and his famous "Tisserand parameter" made him a famous astronomer. His success is immortal. In 1935, the Tisserand crater on the Moon was named in his honor.
In 1971, a lunar crater explored by the astronauts of the Apollo 15 mission was named ‘the Saint George Crater’ after my hometown.
As a kid, knowing that part of my city was up there on the Moon made me a space exploration fanatic. This passion soon led me to read a book that would change my life: Carl Sagan's "Murmurs of Earth".
The book by the designer of the Pioneer plaques and the Voyager Golden Record recounts the genesis of these two projects. He describes how, in a few months, a small team created a message intended to be deciphered by possible extraterrestrial intelligences. Images, sounds and music.
Inspired by this idea of transmission through space and time, I wondered how we could design a 2.0 version. Not for an alien civilization, but for our descendants in the very distant future. I wanted to put this object on the Moon. The Sanctuary On The Moon epic was born.
Like Sagan, I assembled a team of scientists, researchers, and experts in various fields. Together we laid the foundation for the project: the desire to share who we are, what we know and what we do.
After this first step, we had to find a way into space. On the recommendation of CNES, CEA, INRIA and UNESCO, we asked NASA to put our project on board a probe. It was a long shot, but we ultimately succeeded: Sanctuary will be sent to the Moon as part of the Artemis program.
The dream of sending a compendium of humanity to the Moon has become a reality. Launch planned for 2028...
SANCTUARY AT A GLANCE
WHO
WE ARE
Our "biological recipe" engraved forever. Two genomes, one male and one female, randomly selected from the world's population.
WHAT WE KNOW
A cartography of the essential. From the infinite to the quantum. Billions of pixels to explore the world's discoveries.
WHAT WE MAKE
A look at our heritage. UNESCO heritage elements and artistic selections that reflect our culture through time.
human knowledge
The Sanctuary time capsule will contain and preserve a compact collection of ultra-hard sapphire discs engraved with billions of pixels. Together, they will contain a precious cargo of human knowledge taken from the arts and sciences through time and deep into the future.
time capsule
Our time capsule will land on the lunar surface in the middle of this decade, where it will remain for millions of years to come. A unique philosophical and anthropological journey through the eons, and an unprecedented opportunity for humankind to safeguard and transmit our heritage to future generations.