With a population of just over 5,000, the French village of Nuit-Saint-Georges may be small, but this pastoral Burgundy hamlet has an oversized connection to the moon.It is the birthplace of famed 19th-century astronomer Felix Tisserand, whose name was given to the Tisserand crater located in a vast lunar plain known as the Sea of Serenity. He was the contemporary of French novelist Jules Verne, author of From the Earth to the Moon – the first book to imagine such a journey – in which its characters celebrate their arrival with a bottle of wine from Nuit-Saint-Georges.
Then, a century later, when the astronauts of Apollo 15 passed through the village, they were gifted a wine called Cuvee Terre Lune – Lunar Earth Vintage – which inspired them to name yet another crater after the town. Today the square in front of the city hall is called Place du Cratere Saint-Georges – Saint George Crater Plaza.
This is an enduring trend, as a new project will forge yet another link not only from village to moon, but from humanity to our own hereafter. Advertisement
Sanctuary on the Moon is a new international effort to establish a lunar time capsule that will offer its finder a detailed guide to our present civilisation. Set to launch moonward in just a few years with the support of NASA, UNESCO and French President Emmanuel Macr …
