# Michel Ardan — Round the Moon character guide > Michel Ardan in Round the Moon by Jules Verne. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Ardan, the amiable Michel **First appearance:** 0001-i-from-10-20-p-m-to-10-47-p-m ## Snapshot A French adventurer who talks his way aboard the lunar projectile, treating a metal coffin like a leased apartment and death like an inconvenience. ## Who they are Ardan is the expedition's amateur, the one passenger who joined by charm and nerve rather than credentials, and he knows it. Where Barbicane calculates and Nicholl doubts, Ardan jokes — striking a match on his boot sole, christening the bullet a travelling prison he'd gladly lease for a century, naming the dogs after the first couple. His levity is not stupidity; it is a way of holding three men together in a sealed room with no exit. Without his audacity, the voyage would be an experiment; with it, it becomes an adventure. ## Relationships ### [Impey Barbicane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/impey_barbicane) _friendship_ Close companions and fellow space travelers, sharing a bond of mutual respect and adventurous spirit. ### [Captain Nicholl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/captain_nicholl) _friendship_ Despite initial rivalry, they become allies and friends during their journey, with Nicholl often engaging in lively debates with Ardan. ### [Diana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/diana) _friendship_ Michel Ardan has a warm, playful bond with the dog Diana, treating her as a beloved companion on the voyage. ### [J. T. Maston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/j_t_maston) _friendship_ Maston admires Ardan's daring spirit and they share a friendly, enthusiastic connection over the lunar expedition. ### [Impey Barbicane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/impey_barbicane) _friendship_ Close companions and fellow space travelers, sharing a bond of mutual respect and adventurous spirit. ### [Captain Nicholl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/captain_nicholl) _friendship_ Despite initial rivalry, they become allies and friends during their journey, with Nicholl often engaging in lively debates with Ardan. ### [Impey Barbicane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/impey_barbicane) _friendship_ Close companions and fellow space travelers, sharing a bond of mutual respect and adventurous spirit. ### [Captain Nicholl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/captain_nicholl) _friendship_ Despite initial rivalry, they become allies and friends during their journey, with Nicholl often engaging in lively debates with Ardan. ### [Diana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/diana) _friendship_ Michel Ardan has a warm, playful bond with the dog Diana, treating her as a beloved companion on the voyage. ### [J. T. Maston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/j_t_maston) _friendship_ Maston admires Ardan's daring spirit and they share a friendly, enthusiastic connection over the lunar expedition. ## In the story ### [Preliminary Chapter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/preliminary-chapter) French adventurer who joined the expedition; known for his humorous audacity. ### [From 10:20 p.m. to 10:47 p.m.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/i-from-10-20-p-m-to-10-47-p-m) Cheerfully makes himself at home in the projectile, jokes about the journey, and bets with Nicholl about finding animals on the Moon. ### [The First Half-Hour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/ii-the-first-half-hour) Reacting dramatically to the asteroid, joking about the near-collision, and insisting on seeing Earth before it disappears. ### [III: Taking Possession](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/iii-taking-possession) Acts as chief cook, cares for the dogs, and brings levity with his imaginative and talkative nature. ### [A Little Algebra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/iv-a-little-algebra) Expresses confusion and humor about the algebra, and later awakens the others with a cock crow. ### [The Temperature of Space](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/v-the-temperature-of-space) Debates the nature of scientific figures, proposes bringing animals to the moon, and mourns Satellite's death. ### [Questions and Answers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/vi-questions-and-answers) Leads the fanciful discussions, spots the floating object, and identifies it as Satellite. ### [A Moment of Intoxication](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/vii-a-moment-of-intoxication) Enthusiastically proposes ideas for return and communication, including using meteors as postmen and a telegraph wire; prepares the morning meal and jokes about lunar wines. ### [At Seventy-Eight Thousand One Hundred and Fourteen Leagues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/viii-at-seventy-eight-thousand-one-hundred-and-fourteen-leagues) Enthusiastically experiences weightlessness, proposes toasting the neutral line, and imagines the possibilities of life without weight. ### [The Consequences of Deviation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/ix-the-consequences-of-deviation) Dismisses the need to know the cause of deviation; remains optimistic and confident they will reach the moon; recalls his earlier proposal to use fusees to retard the fall. ### [X: The Observers of the Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/x-the-observers-of-the-moon) Ardan clings to hope of touching the lunar disc, but is repeatedly dissuaded by Barbicane's reasoning. ### [Imagination and Reality](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xi-imagination-and-reality) Imaginatively interprets the lunar map as a 'map of life' with feminine and masculine hemispheres, comparing it to Scudery's map of tenderness. ### [XII: Orographical Details](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xii-orographical-details) Engages in lively banter, compares the lunar plain to a game of spillikins or a cemetery, and expresses wonder at the beauty of Copernicus. ### [Lunar Landscapes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xiii-lunar-landscapes) Jokingly compares lunar crevices to ploughed fields and expresses a desire to jump onto the lunar surface. ### [A Night of Three Hundred and Fifty-Four Hours and a Half](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xiv-a-night-of-three-hundred-and-fifty-four-hours-and-a-half) Exclaims dramatically about the moon disappearing, engages in a playful dispute with Nicholl about whether the sun or moon is to blame, and humorously imitates Barbicane's explanation to show he understands. ### [Hyperbola or Parabola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xv-hyperbola-or-parabola) Jokes about the scientific terms, proposes the projectile might fall on the moon like an aerolite, and exclaims when the bolis illuminates the invisible moon. ### [XVI: The Southern Hemisphere](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xvi-the-southern-hemisphere) Lightheartedly remarks on their situation, calling themselves a 'moon of the moon' and maintaining his amiable demeanor despite the danger. ### [XVII: Tycho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xvii-tycho) Enthusiastically imagines seeing ruins of a Selenite city and later envisions a tranquil city within Tycho's crater. ### [Grave Questions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xviii-grave-questions) Provides imaginative hypotheses, jokes about comets causing Tycho's rays, and expresses relief at the earth's long cooling timeline. ### [A Struggle with the Impossible](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xix-a-struggle-with-the-impossible) Proposes breakfast as a solution to their difficulties, suggests commanding the projectile's motion, and remains philosophically humorous even when facing death. ### [XX: The Soundings of the Susquehanna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xx-the-soundings-of-the-susquehanna) Imagined by the officers as smoking a cigar while exploring lunar solitudes. ### [Picked Up](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xxii-picked-up) Found alive inside the projectile, exclaiming victory while playing dominoes with Barbicane and Nicholl. ### [The End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xxiii-the-end) Returns as one of the three heroes; joins the tour and is appointed Director of the National Company for Interstellar Communication. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/michel_ardan - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters