ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot has arrived back in Europe, landing in Cologne, Germany, following her return to Earth with Crew-12 after 237 days, nearly eight months, aboard the International Space Station for her εpsilon mission.
Sophie, together with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, undocked on 7 October at 12:05 GMT/14:05 CEST, beginning a 27 hours and 29 minutes return journey back to Earth.
After splashdown on 8 October at 15:34 GMT/17:34 CEST and initial medical checks aboard the recovery vessel, Sophie and her crewmates travelled to shore by helicopter before boarding a NASA plane at the nearest airport. They were flown together to Ellington Field in Houston for initial post-flight activities.
On 9 October Sophie boarded a French Air and Space Force Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix bound for ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. She landed at 04:21 GMT / 06:21 CEST on 10 October and was warmly welcomed on the apron by family, friends, colleagues, journalists and representatives from ESA Member States.
"We are delighted to welcome back our ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot who embodied our values through her successful mission," says Josef Aschbacher, ESA's Director General. "The inspiration that Sophie has provided with her mission matters a great deal as we enter into such a decisive moment for Europe. Human spaceflight and exploration remain at the centre of our attention as we prepare for the Intermediate Ministerial Council Meeting in Rome in December. Our ambition is clear: Europe must secure a role in exploration commensurate with its political and economic weight."
Next steps for Sophie
Sophie will spend the next two to three weeks adjusting to Earth's gravity and undergoing data collections at :envihab, a German Aerospace Center (DLR) facility located next to EAC. DLR teams work closely with ESA, providing operational, medical and scientific expertise to support astronauts' return, recovery and readaptation to life on Earth. Sophie will then continue her rehabilitation and follow-up activities with the EAC training team.
A record-breaking mission
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. Crew-12 is also the longest SpaceX Dragon mission to date, surpassing the previous record of 235 days set by Crew-8.
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.
Over the course of Expedition 74 and 75, Sophie worked on experiments and payloads for International Space Station partners, contributing to the international research programme carried out aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Sophie also spent around 218 hours working on 35 European payloads, and about 25 hours on ESA systems maintenance or upgrades in Columbus, Europe's microgravity research facility in orbit. She completed all the εpsilon-specific experiments proposed by the French space agency CNES, and all ESA experiments that were assigned to her.
"Sophie was the first of her class to be assigned to a mission, embarking on a fast-track journey she brilliantly completed. Her return now marks the successful completion of an outstanding mission aboard the International Space Station, says Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration. "During εpsilon, she has contributed to an ambitious programme of science, technology and exploration, while representing Europe in an international endeavour that depends on the commitment of thousands of people. Missions like εpsilon help build the knowledge, experience and inspiration we need as Europe pursues its ambitions for exploration and discovery. We are immensely proud to welcome her back to Europe and grateful to all the teams and partners who supported her throughout this journey."
Inspiration and outreach
During her free time, Sophie took more than 1,1 million
