Are you in love? You don't want a traditional proposal over a drink at the local restaurant? Then you'll have to get the moon! Starting in 2022, you can propose by flying over the lunar surface to the sound of the moon. "Fly Me to the Moon" of Frank Sinatra. This is the surreal idea that ApoteoSurprise, a Parisian agency specializing in grandiose wedding proposals, had.
Agod gondolas under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, or golden dunes in the Sahara. These dreamy places to propose will soon be... cheesy. From now on, it's the moon we're promised!
The ApoteoSurprise agency, specialized in the organization of extravagant wedding proposals, launches a brand new service for the modest sum of 125 million euros, allowing the charming princes of the 21st century to ask for the hand of their beloved by flying around the Moon. Being able to get the Moon for love is thus about to become a reality, the ultimate goal of the Parisian agency being to "staging the craziest, most extraordinary proposal in 13.8 billion years."
The trajectory followed by the capsule will be similar to that of the mythical Apollo 8 mission of 1968, travelling more than 500,000 km in space. The capsule, which will be able to reach speeds of up to 38,000 km/h, will be equipped with eight cameras to immortalize forever the couple's spectacular entry into the history of the conquest of space and the conquest... of love.
But you'll have to be in great shape! After health checks and a physical fitness assessment, you will be accompanied and trained for three months by aerospace professionals: cardio-training sessions, centrifuge, getting used to weightlessness through a series of parabolic flights aboard a Boeing 727, getting used to high speeds and strong accelerations aboard a fighter plane crossing Mach 2, a complete presentation of the space capsule and the course of the flight, technical training, stress management tactics and simulations of emergency situations.
Participants will then fly from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrive three days later in lunar orbit at an altitude of only 200/300 kilometres.
From March 2022, any wealthy lover will be able to book the turnkey service on the website www.apoteosurprise.com and receive, five months later, a program very organized:
- Physical training and 12 weeks of prior technical training.
- Liftoff on D-Day from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- Diffusion, in the helmets of the two space tourists, of "Also sprach Zarathustra, Op.30. Richard Strauss' "Space Odyssey" (B.O.de 2001, L'Odyssée de l'espace) at the moment when the first effects of weightlessness are felt.
- Arrival in lunar orbit, three days later, with overflight of the ashy star.
- Interruption of all communication with Earth for about 30 minutes, during which time the capsule flies over the dark side of the Moon.
- Playing the song "Â Fly Me to the Moon" of Frank Sinatra, halfway through the orbital flight, allowing the suitor to propose (engagement ring hidden in his suit) away from all other life forms.
- Spectacular Earth rise behind the lunar craters and return journey, for nearly four days, before atmospheric re-entry and final landing.
This one-week trip will be possible "subject to favourable weather conditions and the absence of solar flares".
A cupid above ground
An aeronautical engineer by training, Nicolas Garreau seems to be a romantic from another time. He founded ApoteoSurprise based on the simple observation that no specific service existed to accompany men in the preparation of their marriage proposal. After living in Venice as a teenager for almost four years, he returned to France deeply marked by Italian romanticism. He developed his imagination and definitively forged, over the years, his desire to surprise the young women he was in love with. Being romantic and inventive from his first love affairs, it is therefore with evidence and passion, a few years later, that he decided to put his experience and creativity at the service of men dreaming, just like him, to offer an incredible fairy tale to their sweetheart.
An eloquent figure: 80 % of women say they were disappointed by their proposal! By conducting studies and field surveys, he was indeed able to see how destitute men can be when the fateful, and often dreaded, moment to propose marriage approaches.
Paradoxically, however, for most women the proposal is the realization of the dream of Prince Charming that they have cultivated within themselves, even unconsciously, since early childhood. Even though we know that the number of marriages continues to decline: 228,000 were celebrated in 2017, 7,000 fewer than in 2016. In 1972, 4,16,521 unions were celebrated. Times are changing ...
Rest assured, if you don't have 125 million euros to spend, a romantic moonlight under a starry sky will do the trick...
