Sanctuary on the Moon (time capsule)¶
IM-5 · manifested · commercial payload
A lunar time capsule: 24 synthetic sapphire discs, 10 cm across, engraved with nearly 100 billion micro-pixels of text and images about science, culture, the human body and the genome, in a small aluminum container (about 1.4 kg). It is passive and measures nothing.
PI: Benoit Faiveley (founder of the Sanctuary project)
Built by: Grapevine Productions (lead, per NASA); the French Sanctuary project founded by engineer Benoit Faiveley, with the CNRS and the CEA (which engraves the discs) and support from CNES and INRIA (other)
| Technology | time capsule (cultural archive); not technology |
| Moon Base need | none named (No Moon Base need. A cultural archive, not a technology or a measurement; no gap or data gap applies. The phase is by IM-5's 2030 date only (the study's reading).) |
| Route onto CLPS | other NASA; No payload call. NASA agreed to carry Sanctuary: in September 2023 it confirmed the capsule would go to the Moon on a CLPS mission then planned for 2027, and SMD's deputy associate administrator for exploration welcomed it publicly in March 2024. NASA lists Sanctuary among IM-5's seven payloads (five are NASA's), so it rides on the NASA task order, not on space Intuitive Machines sold. How NASA chose it and on what terms are not public.; 2023-09 |
| Timeline | first funding not in public sources (the project began 'nearly ten years' before June 2024); first flight test not in public sources; selected 2023-09 (NASA confirmed a CLPS ride); 2026-03-24 (listed with IM-5's payloads); launch not in public sources (landing targeted for 2030); landing 2030 (target) |
| On the Moon | not yet flown |
| FO | none |
Flights before the Moon¶
None found in the public sources.
Heritage hardware¶
- other (material): Engraved industrial sapphire discs, chosen to survive the lunar surface for a very long time; a container to be designed to NASA's space certifications. No earlier flight of a disc was found.
"a container will be designed to meet all the space certifications required by NASA"
— Sanctuary on The Moon Time Capsule with Information About Humanity - StorageNewsletter
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- Not in public sources. A French project, supported by the CNRS with technical backing from the CEA, and by CNES and INRIA; no amounts given. No US award found. (not in public sources; from about 2014): amount not in public sources
"With the support of the CNRS and technical backing from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)"
— Reaching for the Moon for the sake of humanity
How it got onto CLPS¶
"In September 2023 the agency confirmed that the 1.4 kg time capsule, consisting of a highly resistant, lightweight aluminium container holding 24 sapphire discs, would be taken to the Moon on board the future Artemis CLPS lunar mission, scheduled to launch in 2027."
— Reaching for the Moon for the sake of humanity"We are delighted to take Sanctuary to the Moon"
— Sanctuary on The Moon Time Capsule with Information About Humanity - StorageNewsletter, Joel Kearns, NASA SMD"This lunar delivery, which includes seven payloads — five of them NASA’s"
— NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon - NASA, 27 Mar 2026"Sanctuary – A passive time capsule payload containing sapphire discs that preserve examples of humanity’s achievements."
— Intuitive Machines Expands Lunar Surface Operations with
On the Moon¶
Manifested on IM-5 (Nova-D), targeted for 2030. In 2023-2024 the plan was a CLPS mission launching in 2027.
"Sanctuary was developed in France."
— NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon - NASA
FO's role¶
Grade: none. Not a technology payload; no FO project, flight or report relates to it. Grade: none.
"Six more missions have been awarded with no NASA payloads named in the sources"
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)
Who built it¶
"Lead organization: Grapevine Productions"
— NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon - NASA"Benoit Faiveley, founder of The Sanctuary Project"
— Sanctuary on The Moon Time Capsule with Information About Humanity - StorageNewsletter, photo caption, March 2024"The discs are currently being engraved at the French alternative energies and atomic energy commission (CEA)."
— Sanctuary on The Moon Time Capsule with Information About Humanity - StorageNewsletter"the Sanctuary project is supported by the French CNES Space agency, and the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA)"
— Reaching for the Moon for the sake of humanity, note 1, CNRS News, 14 Jun 2024
Moon Base need¶
"is a lunar time capsule of 24 synthetic sapphire discs containing a curated archive of human civilization"
— NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon - NASA
Open questions¶
- On what terms does NASA carry Sanctuary (free ride, cost share, agreement)? Not in public sources.
- Which CLPS mission was Sanctuary assigned to in 2023 (launch then planned for 2027), and why did it move to IM-5? Not in public sources.
- Who or what is Grapevine Productions, NASA's named lead? Not in the sources read here.