After 23 years, France is sending a woman astronaut to space: Meet Sophie Adenot

Sophie Adenot is now circling Earth at an altitude of roughly 400 kilometres, part of a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. The European Space Agency astronaut launched on 13 February 2026 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, joining an international crew to stay in orbit. Her flight marks the first time since 2001 that a French woman has travelled to space. Following Claudie Haigneré, she is the second French woman astronaut. Selected in 2022 as an ESA astronaut candidate, Adenot completed basic training in 2024 before being assigned to her first mission, named Epsilon. During her time in orbit, she is scheduled to carry out more than 200 scientific experiments spanning biology, physics, and Earth observation research in microgravity conditions.

Sophie Adenot becomes the first French woman astronaut since 2001

France has sent astronauts to space before, but women have rarely been among them. Sophie Adenot now becomes the first French woman to fly since Claudie Haigneré’s mission more than two decades ago. She joined NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, serving as commander, and Jack Hathaway as pilot, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Together they form a four-member crew aboard the International Space Station, operated in partnership by NASA, ESA and Roscosmos.

Military pilot experience shaped Sophie’s path to ESA

Before joining ESA, Adenot built a long career in military aviation. After completing a master’s degree in 2004, she worked briefly as a helicopter cockpit design research engineer at Airbus Helicopter in Marignane. From 2008 to 2012 she served as a search and rescue pilot at Cazaux Air Base, flying missions in desert and hostile environments. Later she became a formation flight leader and mission captain with the High Authority Transport Squadron in Villacoublay. Between 2019 and 2022 she worked as an experimental test pilot at the Cazaux Flight Test Center with the French defence procurement agency. She has logged around 3000 flight hours across 22 helicopter types.

ESA training prepared her for long-duration spaceflight

Adenot started basic training in April 2023 after being chosen as an ESA astronaut candidate in November 2022. She became eligible for flight assignments after qualifying at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany in April 2024. Over 200 microgravity experiments are part of her present mission. Some study the health of people in space. Others concentrate on Earth systems and materials science. Above the globe, orbit after orbit, the work goes on in silence.