ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is back in Europe after a record 237 days in space

French astronaut Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency landed in Cologne on 10 October at the end of her first mission, after 237 days, 5 hours and 18 minutes in space, ESA said. That is the longest single spaceflight by a European astronaut, more than 35 days longer than the previous record set by Italy's Luca Parmitano on his Beyond mission.

Adenot flew to the International Space Station on 13 February with SpaceX's Crew-12, alongside NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev. ESA named her mission εpsilon.

Splashdown off California, then a flight home to Germany

The Dragon capsule undocked from the station on 7 October and splashed down the next day at 15:34 GMT. The landing was in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California, according to the Associated Press. After medical checks on the recovery ship, the crew flew by helicopter to shore and then to Houston.

Adenot continued to Europe on 9 October aboard a French Air and Space Force Airbus A330 and arrived at ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne early on 10 October. Crew-12 is now the longest SpaceX Dragon mission so far, beating Crew-8's 235 days.

Three spacewalks and 218 hours of European science

Adenot spent about 218 hours on 35 European experiments, covering health research, materials science, biology, fluid physics, radiation physics and fundamental science, and about 25 hours maintaining or upgrading ESA systems in the Columbus laboratory. She completed every experiment proposed by the French space agency CNES for εpsilon and every ESA experiment assigned to her. She also tested technology for future exploration, including the E4D exercise device and metal 3D printing in orbit.

She made three spacewalks within 14 days, spending 19 hours and 42 minutes outside the station. That makes her the second European woman to walk in space, after Italy's Samantha Cristoforetti, and the first French woman.

“Sophie was the first of her class to be assigned to a mission, embarking on a fast-track journey she brilliantly completed.” — Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration

290,000 students followed experiments from the station

Adenot was selected in ESA's 2022 astronaut class and was the first of that group to fly. Her outreach reached more than 290,000 students, ESA said, through CNES's Chloriss experiment in about 4,000 schools, ESA's AstroPi programming challenge, amateur radio contacts and a poetry contest. Her posts drew more than 403 million views.

ESA director general Josef Aschbacher linked her return to the agency's next big decision. "Human spaceflight and exploration remain at the centre of our attention as we prepare for the Intermediate Ministerial Council Meeting in Rome in December," he said. "Our ambition is clear: Europe must secure a role in exploration commensurate with its political and economic weight."

Crew-12 was replaced on the station by Crew-13 at the start of October, the AP reported. The intermediate ESA ministerial meeting in Rome is set for December.