N° 28–2024: ESA astronauts Sophie Adenot and Raphaël Liégeois assigned for Space Station missions
22 May 2024
ESA astronauts Sophie Adenot and Raphaël Liégeois have been assigned for their first spaceflights to the International Space Station (ISS) on missions currently planned for 2026.
This significant milestone was announced today by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher during the Space Council taking place in Brussels on 22 and 23 May 2024.
The Director General remarked, “The assignment of Sophie and Raphaël as the next ESA astronauts flying to the International Space Station marks a significant milestone for ESA and its astronaut class of 2022. It is a tangible result of our commitment to continue a strong European presence in an international context. As exploration activities develop at an unprecedented rate, sending two newly graduated ESA astronauts to space is a crucial stepping-stone in the path of preserving European knowhow, ensuring Europe’s long-term participation in ongoing programmes such as Artemis as well as in any future projects involving human spaceflight and exploration.”
Sophie and Raphaël, members of ESA's most recent cohort of astronauts selected in 2022, recently concluded their one-year basic training, culminating in their official astronaut graduation ceremony on 22 April at ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Germany.
With the assignment of Sophie and Raphaël, the first two astronauts from the ESA astronaut class of 2022 are set to embark on long-duration missions to the International Space Station, with Sophie scheduled to fly first, followed by Raphaël.
"With Sophie's and Raphaël's assignment to ISS expeditions, we witness the realisation of their lifelong dreams and aspirations, symbolising both their personal achievements and the collective performance of the team who trained them at the European Astronaut Centre," noted ESA's Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander. "Today, these two amazing individuals will represent ESA as reliable partner on board the Space Station and embody ESA’s competitiveness."
Born in France in 1982, Sophie is an engineer, helicopter test pilot and colonel in the French Air and Space Force. “It's a tremendous honour to be selected for this mission! I am really enthusiastic to begin a new part of this journey that will allow me to contribute to scientific research and exploration aboard the International Space Station. And to think I will be able to do so representing France and Europe with ESA gives a new dimension to this adventure."
Raphaël was born in Belgium in 1988 and has a background in biomedical engineering and neuroscience. "Just one month ago, we all gathered to celebrate the end of our basic training, and now, I have the chance of being assigned a mission to the ISS. I simply cannot wait to tackle this new upcoming challenge and to be able to wear, up there, the colours of Belgium and ESA!"
As they progress to subsequent phases of pre-assignment and mission-specific training, Sophie and Raphaël gain more in-depth knowledge acquired during basic astronaut training, while travelling to all partner sites, and prepare for their assigned missions, focusing on specific tasks and experiments to be performed in space.
During their missions on the Space Station, ESA astronauts will perform numerous scientific experiments, many of them originating from Europe, conduct medical research, contribute to Earth observation, and be involved in Space Station operational and maintenance tasks.
The latest graduates from ESA's newest astronaut class, including Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois and Marco Sieber, are now eligible for spaceflight assignments. ESA intends for all five new astronauts to embark on missions to the International Space Station by 2030.
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About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
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