Sophie Adenot is back on Earth

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is assisted by recovery teams after exiting Dragon Freedom, following nearly eight months in space on her first mission, εpsilon. Sophie returned to Earth with Crew-12 on 8 October 2026, splashing down off the coast of California, USA, at 15:34 GMT/17:34 CEST.  

Sophie spent a total of 237 days, 5 hours and 18 minutes in space after being launched on 13 February 2026 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA. The εpsilon mission set a new European record for the longest single spaceflight, exceeding by more than 35 days the previous record held by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano for his Beyond mission. 

Sophie is the second European woman, after ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, and the first French woman to conduct an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), or spacewalk. Sophie completed three spacewalks in 14 days, spending a total of 19 hours and 42 minutes working outside the Station. 

Throughout εpsilon, Sophie carried out a wide range of European experiments spanning fields from health research to materials science, biology, fluid physics, radiation physics and fundamental science. 

Alongside this broad research programme, Sophie also helped to test technologies for future exploration missions, including the new European exercise device E4D and in-orbit metal 3D printing, and supported commercial research payloads.