The SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule carrying ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev, docked with the International Space Station on 14 February, at 20:15 GMT/21:15 CET, marking the official start of ESA's εpsilon mission.
The crew of four were launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 10:15 GMT/11:15 CET on Friday 13 February. After spending about 34 hours orbiting Earth and catching up with the International Space Station, the members of Crew-12 prepared for docking. First-time flyers Sophie Adenot and Jack Hathaway, both with a test-pilot background, used this time to familiarise themselves with living and working in microgravity.
Once the hatches were opened, Crew‑12 was welcomed on board by NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud‑Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, who have been on the Station since their arrival on a Soyuz in November 2025.
ESA's Sophie Adenot and NASA's Jack Hathaway then received their astronaut wings from Station Commander Sergei Kud‑Sverchkov during a short ceremony. Crew‑12 also expressed their gratitude to the NASA and SpaceX teams for the smooth flight and shared their eagerness to begin work.
Ready to advance science
With Sophie on board, the εpsilon mission has officially started. Scheduled to last up to nine months, εpsilon is set to become the longest ESA astronaut mission to date. During her time on the Station, Sophie will serve as crew specialist for both Columbus, the European laboratory module, and Kibo, the Japanese science module.
Sophie will conduct up to 36 experiments from Europe, including seven developed by CNES, the French space agency, specifically for the εpsilon mission. Covering a wide range of scientific domains, from human physiology and climate research to technology demonstrations, research carried out on board the Station aims to benefit life on Earth and to support future exploration missions.
"The εpsilon mission highlights ESA's commitment to maintaining a continuous human presence in low‑Earth orbit and related utilisation, starting with science. Sophie is the first career astronaut of the Class of 2022, the 'Hoppers', to fly," said ESA's Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander.
"She transitioned directly from basic training to mission‑specific training and consistently performed above expectations. I am proud of the exceptional work carried out by Sophie and by our teams, a group of talented 'εpsilon' making all this possible."
