Sophie Adenot makes spacewalk history during eight months in orbit

French astronaut Sophie Adenot has become the first French woman to carry out a spacewalk, while conducting nearly 200 scientific and technology experiments during almost eight months aboard the International Space Station.

Her Epsilon mission included three spacewalks totalling 19 hours and 42 minutes. Working with crewmates, she replaced a faulty communications antenna and carried out maintenance on the orbiting laboratory.

Inside the station, her research included EchoFinder, an experiment designed to help astronauts perform ultrasound scans independently using artificial intelligence and augmented reality, which overlays digital guidance on their view. Such tools could help future crews conduct medical checks with less support from Earth. Another experiment, PhysioTool, assessed how the body and brain adapt to weightlessness.

The mission also connected space research with classrooms. The ChlorISS education project involved more than 4,500 classes and 260,000 pupils in observing how light and gravity influence plant growth.

The crew’s return plan included a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California on 8 October. For Adenot, the work continues beyond the flight: medical checks and several weeks of rehabilitation in Cologne, Germany, are planned to help her body readjust to gravity after the long stay in orbit.