French astronaut Sophie Adenot returned to Europe on Saturday after a 235-day mission aboard the International Space Station, setting a European record for the longest continuous orbital flight and completing three spacewalks before a difficult Pacific splashdown.
Adenot Returns to Cologne After Record Flight
Sophie Adenot spent 235 days in orbit, breaking the record for the longest continuous stay in space by any European astronaut. The European Space Agency astronaut touched down at the military airport in Cologne, Germany, just before dawn on Saturday, October 10, 2026, following an amerrissage off the coast of California and a brief stop at NASA’s center in Houston.
Stepping off the plane, she appeared visibly weakened and required physical support from two ESA surgeons before reaching the podium. She declined a wheelchair that had been brought to the tarmac.
Dozens of colleagues and well-wishers holding French flags gathered near the tarmac to cheer for her arrival. The return flight followed a complex 27-hour journey back to Earth.
It's a cocktail of surprising emotions, it's incredible, it's wonderful to be back on Earth, but it also comes with its share of challenges, physiological ones mostly. Sophie
Rough Pacific Landing Slows Recovery
The capsule carrying Adenot and her three crewmates endured heavy wave action for 25 minutes before rescue teams reached them during a difficult splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday afternoon.
Bill Spetch, a NASA official, confirmed the crew was in good condition and smiling as they emerged from the capsule. When extraction commandos pulled her from the vehicle, Adenot joked that she immediately asked to be sent right back up because conditions were much easier high above the planet.
Adenot Sets French Spacewalk Milestone
Adenot became the first French person to perform an extravehicular activity, completing three spacewalks during her tenure on the orbiting laboratory. These milestones were part of her Epsilon mission.
Reflecting on her months above the atmosphere, Adenot described orbital flight as an experience that strips away political divisions, offering a view of a precious planet shared by all without borders or divisions.
The physical toll of the mission includes bone density loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular deconditioning, and visual disturbances caused by prolonged weightlessness.