Sentimentality or Superstion?

Discovery News : Discovery Channel: "Some of the author's (Jules Verne -ed) original notes were packed aboard the spacecraft to commemorate its maiden voyage, along with a copy of 'From the Earth to the Moon' and its sequel, 'Around the Moon.'"

Why was this done? I can't comment on Verne's likely attitude toward such wasteful frippery but I am pretty sure that Ned Land would have a nautical expression or two ready to hand. So congrats to the ESA for a workable remote control craft that can replace a ship and its crew (cue your favorite quote from the The Ultimate Computer), but a fish-slap for the dope that approved the cargo. You can't breathe a book in space!