After welcoming the crew and their teammates aboard the International Space Station on Friday, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, who has been in orbit for almost eight months, foresees her imminent return to Earth.

Published on: 01/10/2026 - 09:08 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 11:42

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French astronaut Sophie Adenot, who has been in orbit for almost eight months, foresees her imminent return to Earth, following the welcome, on Friday October 2, on board the International Space Station (ISS), of the crew who came to relieve her with her teammates.

The Frenchwoman warmly welcomed on board the Americans Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, the Canadian Joshua Kutryk and the Russian Sergei Teteriatnikov around 1:43 GMT on Friday, after their record journey of 7 hours and 55 minutes aboard SpaceX's Dragon ship.

See also Space Summit: exchange between French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Macron

“It's hard to believe we're already here! (...) We're happy to join you and get to work as soon as possible,” commented American astronaut Jessica Watkins after a brief welcome ceremony.

“I can't wait to start a good mission, after having a little sleep,” added Canadian Joshua Kutryk.

The crew of Crew-13 and that of Sophie Adenot - made up of the Americans Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway as well as the Russian Andreï Fediaïev - will live together for a few days to transmit the information essential to the pursuit of missions on board the orbital laboratory.

Three other astronauts, who arrived in July as part of the crew rotation provided by the Russian space agency, are also present on board, bringing the number of station occupants to eleven.

A record for the French astronaut

Crew-13 was initially scheduled to join the ISS in mid-September but their takeoff was postponed due to a leak detected on the spacecraft. They finally took off on Thursday at 3:10 p.m. GMT from Cape Canaveral in Florida, before docking with the ISS at 11:16 p.m. GMT, NASA said.

These hazards allowed Sophie Adenot, who left on February 13, to stay in orbit longer than planned. On September 3, she became the European astronaut — men and women combined — having carried out the longest mission in space, having exceeded 230 days.

See alsoExclusive: from the ISS, Sophie Adenot recounts a “mission accomplished” and a “miracle”

The arrival of this new crew announces for Sophie Adenot an imminent return to Earth. NASA is considering a departure no earlier than Monday, but this date could change due to weather conditions.

As soon as she lands in the Pacific Ocean and is repatriated to Houston (United States), NASA headquarters, the Frenchwoman and her crew will be accompanied by doctors.

Then she will be taken care of by the European Space Agency (ESA) in Cologne in Germany, where she is expected around October 7-8, to reunite with her loved ones.

The native of Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire (Nièvre), who celebrated her 44th birthday on the ISS in July, confided her desire to kiss them, take a good shower or even practice water sports again.

But for about three weeks, she will first have to follow a tailor-made recovery program in order to readjust to Earth's gravity.

First French

Within the ISS, and beyond her appearances on screen with her head down or her hair in the air, her speeches displaying unfailing enthusiasm, the helicopter pilot, colonel in the Air Force, left her mark on the history of space.

Sophie Adenot thus became the first French woman to venture into the void of space, during three extravehicular outings (EVA), on August 18 and 25 and September 1.

These three outings, for a total of 19 hours and 42 minutes, will remain the “highlight” of his stay.

“I was hoping to carry out a few spacewalks, but I didn't expect three in a row, and this, in the space of 15 days. It was an extraordinary experience,” she confided, comparing leaving the station to the sensation of “opening the door of a car and finding yourself with your feet on the edge of a cliff”.

Read alsoSuccess for Frenchwoman Sophie Adenot's third outing into space

Over the course of eight months, the Frenchwoman will also have carried out more than 200 scientific experiments intended to prepare the next space missions and advance science on Earth.

So many experiences that she will have to recount on her return, to the schoolchildren who have followed her journey. The holidays will be studious.

With AFP

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