Sophie Adenot 🛰️
European Space Agency
Between 2001 and 2003, Sophie studied engineering and graduated from ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse, France, where she specialised in spacecraft and aircraft flight dynamics. She then completed a Master of Science in human factors engineering at MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, USA, in 2004. In 2005, Sophie joined the French Air Force for her basic military training and initial flying training to become a helicopter pilot. In 2018, she graduated with honours as a helicopter test pilot from the Empire Test Pilots’ School in Boscombe Down, UK. She was awarded the Mac Kenna trophy and the Patuxtent Shield. Between 2019 and 2022, Sophie worked as a helicopter experimental test pilot in Cazaux Flight Test Center with DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement – the French Defence Procurement Agency). She has logged 3000 hours and flew on 22 different helicopter types. She also holds a military parachute license, a light aircraft pilot license and a glider pilot license.
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📰 News
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot has begun testing the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D) on the International Space Station. Installed inside ESA's Columbus laboratory, the new exercise system will spend the next two years helping researchers evaluate innovative ways to keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space missions.
When it comes to the future of human exploration, 3D printers hold the key to crew autonomy in areas ranging from maintenance to medicine. Delivered by ESA in 2024, the first metal 3D printer in space has just produced its fifth sample, retrieved by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during the εpsilon mission.
Every space mission has two crews: one in space and one on Earth. While ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot carries out experiments and daily tasks aboard the International Space Station, teams across Europe are working to support her εpsilon mission from the ground. From flight controllers and communicators to scientists, engineers and medical experts, this network of specialists helps keep operations running smoothly and science on track.
Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) helps flight engineer Chris Williams of NASA as he tries on his spacesuit on June 23, 2026, testing its comfort and mobility as well as its communications and life support systems inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Williams will go on a spacewalk on June […]
What did space have in store for Europe this month? This June, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano was named pilot of NASA's Artemis III mission, Ariane 6 set a new European launch record, Proba-3 returned to operations, ESA satellites detected early signs of El Niño, Euclid unveiled its most detailed view yet of the Milky Way's galactic centre, and Sophie Adenot reached the halfway point of her εpsilon mission aboard the International Space Station.
Go behind the scenes at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and discover how space experiments are prepared long before they reach orbit. Meet the ECOS team, as Deputy Manager Salvi Verma shares how they work with scientists, engineers and astronauts to turn ideas into real missions aboard the International Space Station. From early planning on the ground to supporting astronauts like ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during her Epsilon mission, this is how space science becomes reality.
When it comes to the future of human exploration, 3D printers hold the key to crew autonomy in areas ranging from maintenance to medicine. Launched by ESA in 2024, the first metal 3D printer in space has just produced its fifth sample, retrieved by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during the εpsilon mission.
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot has tested a European intravehicular activity (IVA) spacesuit prototype aboard the International Space Station (ISS). In addition to testing in space, a second prototype has undergone a water survival test campaign in Marseille. The EuroSuit project was initiated by the French space agency CNES in December 2023, with its development led […] The post ESA Astronaut Tests European Spacesuit Prototype Aboard ISS appeared first on European Spaceflight.
Meet the voices astronauts hear in space. At ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, the EUROCOM team is the link between crew and ground, guiding astronauts like ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot through their daily work on the International Space Station. Join us as EUROCOM expert Andreas Orth explains how complex operations are translated into clear, real-time communication and what it means to be the one voice connecting Earth and orbit.
Sophie is halfway through the εpsilon mission onboard the ISS, and she has already accomplished so much. Between hundreds of hours of scientific research and thousands of photographs taken from space, she has taken the time to share many unforgettable moments with us — inspiring millions along the way on social media.
This video was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:
From strategic discussions on autonomy and resilience to an in-flight call with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, ESA's second day at ILA Berlin International Airshow 2026 highlighted the wide-reaching value of space for Europe now and in the future.