Thomas Pesquet is the tenth French astronaut and the first among them to command the International Space Station (ISS). During his two missions in space, Proxima in 2016-2017 and Alpha in 2021, he shared his scientific adventure, his daily life in the Station and his pictures of our planet, particularly over social networks. He has made millions of people dream. His travels have also been a wake-up call; an occasion to cast a fresh eye on the Earth, its beauty and its fragility. Monnaie de Paris joins Thomas Pesquet in a call to take care of our planet. This collection invites you to follow the astronaut in weightlessness. It pays tribute to the space adventure that's always looking ahead to new horizons, but mostly to our Earth, beautiful but fragile.Thomas Pesquet is the tenth French astronaut and the first among them to command the International Space Station (ISS). During his two missions in space, Proxima in 2016-2017 and Alpha in 2021, he shared his scientific adventure, his daily life in the Station and his pictures of our planet, particularly over social networks. He has made millions of people dream. His travels have also been a wake-up call; an occasion to cast a fresh eye on the Earth, its beauty and its fragility. Monnaie de Paris joins Thomas Pesquet in a call to take care of our planet. This collection invites you to follow the astronaut in weightlessness. It pays tribute to the space adventure that's always looking ahead to new horizons, but mostly to our Earth, beautiful but fragile.
On the obverse, Saturn is represented in the open palm of an astronaut. In the background is a sky full of stars. This design gives the observer the impression of being inside the astronaut's helmet, who has succeeded in grasping the planet to admire it. Along the edge of the coin are the words ‘116,460 km’ and ‘10h33’, which represent Saturn's diameter and rotation time.
On the reverse, the face value is surrounded by two branches, one of oak, the other of laurel, evoking the Euro symbol. The entire reverse design is framed by ‘République Française’ and a series of lines representing the Hexagon.
The coin is packaged in a cardlette with designs by Romain Hugault. Inside are a few scientific details about the star and on the back a text by Thomas Pesquet about it.
The
collaboration on this collection is the subject of a donation to the Aviation
sans Frontières association.
