Astronaut Sophie Adenot, freshly graduated, will be the first in her training group to go on a mission to the International Space Station for six months. She will be relieved by Belgian astronaut Raphael Liégeois. The flight is scheduled for 2026.
She will become the second Frenchwoman in space after Claudie Haigneré. Having just completed her basic training at the European Space Agency (ESA) training center, Sophie Adenot is now assigned to her first space mission, as announced by the agency’s Director-General, Josef Aschbacher, yesterday. She will launch in 2026.
A Six-Month Mission
Along with her fellow trainees, the Hoppers, Sophie Adenot is currently starting an extensive training program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They will notably complete their training for Extravehicular Activities (spacewalks) for station maintenance.
To prepare for her mission, Sophie Adenot will also familiarize herself with the different modules of the International Space Station (ISS) and systems to maintain. In addition to Houston, the French astronaut and Raphael Liégeois will likely spend time in Moscow (Russian section), the Canadian Space Agency (robotic arm), and Japan. It is currently unknown which spacecraft they will launch on (likely American: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon or Boeing’s Starliner).
In addition to their knowledge of the station, Sophie Adenot and Raphael Liégeois will have to familiarize themselves with all the scientific experiments taking place there and prepare for the ones they will need to carry out.
Future Lunar Walker?
The ESA hopes that Sophie Adenot and her four colleagues will have all completed their first missions at the International Space Agency by 2030. What comes next? The future of the ISS beyond 2030 is uncertain, but other private space stations are expected to take over. Sophie Adenot may undertake her second mission in low orbit at the beginning of the next decade. Then, why not the Moon with Artemis?