Sophie Adenot - People also ask

Q: What is Sophie Adenot's background?

Sophie Adenot is a Colonel in the **French Air and Space Force** and a qualified **test pilot** (she flew advanced military jets including the Rafale). She holds a degree from the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace (ISAE-Supaéro) in Toulouse and a Master's in Flight Testing. She was selected in the **ESA astronaut class of November 2022**, one of the most competitive selections in ESA history, and completed basic astronaut training at EAC in Cologne in 2024. She is one of two French nationals currently in the ESA active astronaut corps alongside Thomas Pesquet. Sources: ESA.

Q: Who did Sophie Adenot do her spacewalk with?

Sophie Adenot conducted her August 18, 2026 spacewalk with **Anil Menon**, a NASA astronaut and former US Space Force flight surgeon who is also a member of the ISS Expedition 74 crew. Inside the station, **Commander Jessica Meir** and flight engineer **Jack Hathaway** operated the Canadarm2 robotic arm to assist the two spacewalkers. Russian cosmonaut **Andrey Fedyaev** is also part of the current crew. Sources: NASA.

Q: How many European women have walked in space?

As of August 19, 2026, **two European women** have conducted spacewalks: Italian astronaut **Samantha Cristoforetti** (ESA), who walked in space in July 2022, and French astronaut **Sophie Adenot** (ESA), who made her first EVA on August 18, 2026. Among all women globally, the list of spacewalkers remains short: the vast majority have been American astronauts, led by Peggy Whitson (10 EVAs) and Christina Koch. Sources: ESA, NASA.

Q: How old is Sophie Adenot?

Sophie Adenot was born in **1980**, making her approximately 45–46 years old in 2026. She is part of the ESA astronaut class of 2022 and the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. Sources: ESA.

Sophie Adenot is a French ESA astronaut, Colonel in the French Air and Space Force, and former test pilot. On August 18, 2026, she became the first French woman, and second European woman, to conduct a spacewalk, spending 6 hours 23 minutes outside the ISS with NASA astronaut Anil Menon during mission Epsilon.

By Alexandre Le Hégarat · datastats · Updated August 19, 2026

Sophie Adenot: France’s Spacewalking Pioneer

Sophie Adenot made history on August 18, 2026. Floating outside the International Space Station in a white extravehicular mobility unit suit alongside NASA astronaut Anil Menon, she became the first French woman to walk in space, a milestone in both French and European space history. The feat took 6 hours and 23 minutes, during which the pair removed a failed Space-to-Ground Antenna from the station’s truss. Time ran short before the new unit could be installed, but the mission was still hailed as a landmark achievement.

Adenot arrived at the ISS in February 2026 on what ESA and CNES call the Epsilon mission, an approximately eight-month long-duration stay. Aboard a station running Expedition 73/74, she works alongside Commander Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway (NASA), and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Roscosmos), conducting around 200 scientific experiments across medicine, biology, materials science, and human physiology. ESA says the mission may be the longest ever by a European astronaut if carried to its scheduled conclusion.

Before her astronaut career, Adenot was a Colonel in the French Air and Space Force and an elite test pilot who flew advanced jets including the Rafale. She holds an engineering degree from ISAE-Supaéro in Toulouse and a Master’s in Flight Testing. Selected into the ESA class of November 2022, one of the most competitive in the agency’s history, she completed basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne in under three years, faster than most of her predecessors. She is the second European woman to have walked in space, after Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti performed an EVA in July 2022.

The spacewalk was broadcast live by ESA and NASA, with French media carrying the feed widely. President Macron congratulated Adenot from the Élysée Palace, calling her “the face of all possibilities.” Sources: ESA, NASA, France 24, Euronews.

Your searches: Sophie Adenot: First French Woman to Spacewalk

People also ask

Sophie Adenot is a French astronaut and Colonel in the French Air and Space Force. She is part of the ESA astronaut class of 2022 (the 'class of Shayle'), completed training at ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne in under three years, and is currently on the International Space Station on a long-duration mission called Epsilon, launched in February 2026. On August 18, 2026, she became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk in the history of spaceflight, and the second European woman after Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (2022). Sources: ESA, NASA.

On August 18, 2026, Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon conducted a 6-hour, 23-minute spacewalk (EVA) from the Quest airlock of the International Space Station. Their primary task was to replace a failed Space-to-Ground Antenna (SGANT), the system NASA uses to transmit high-speed data and communications between the ISS and mission control in Houston. They successfully removed the failed unit and secured it to the station's truss structure, but time constraints prevented installation of the replacement antenna; a follow-up EVA will be needed to complete that work. Sources: NASA, ESA.

No. Sophie Adenot is not the first French woman in space, but she is the first French woman to walk in space. The first French woman to reach space was Claudie Haigneré, who flew on two missions to the Mir and ISS stations in 1996 and 2001 respectively. Adenot joined the ISS aboard mission Epsilon in February 2026. Her August 18, 2026 spacewalk, a 6h 23min EVA with Anil Menon, was the historical first for a French woman outside a spacecraft. Sources: ESA, France 24.

Sophie Adenot is a Colonel in the French Air and Space Force and a qualified test pilot (she flew advanced military jets including the Rafale). She holds a degree from the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace (ISAE-Supaéro) in Toulouse and a Master's in Flight Testing. She was selected in the ESA astronaut class of November 2022, one of the most competitive selections in ESA history, and completed basic astronaut training at EAC in Cologne in 2024. She is one of two French nationals currently in the ESA active astronaut corps alongside Thomas Pesquet. Sources: ESA.

Sophie Adenot launched to the International Space Station on the Epsilon mission in February 2026, for a planned mission of approximately eight months, which would make it one of the longest missions by a European astronaut if completed on schedule. She is conducting around 200 scientific experiments in collaboration with ESA, CNES (French space agency), and NASA, covering fields including medicine, biology, materials physics, and human adaptation to microgravity. Sources: ESA, CNES.

Sophie Adenot conducted her August 18, 2026 spacewalk with Anil Menon, a NASA astronaut and former US Space Force flight surgeon who is also a member of the ISS Expedition 74 crew. Inside the station, Commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Jack Hathaway operated the Canadarm2 robotic arm to assist the two spacewalkers. Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev is also part of the current crew. Sources: NASA.

As of August 19, 2026, two European women have conducted spacewalks: Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (ESA), who walked in space in July 2022, and French astronaut Sophie Adenot (ESA), who made her first EVA on August 18, 2026. Among all women globally, the list of spacewalkers remains short: the vast majority have been American astronauts, led by Peggy Whitson (10 EVAs) and Christina Koch. Sources: ESA, NASA.

Epsilon is the name of Sophie Adenot's long-duration mission to the International Space Station, launched in February 2026. The mission is ESA's and CNES's name for her stay aboard the ISS; it is part of the broader Expedition 73/74 framework. Adenot carries around 200 scientific experiments for ESA and CNES covering medicine, biology, physics and human adaptation to spaceflight. The mission is expected to last approximately eight months. Sources: ESA, CNES.

Sophie Adenot was born in 1980, making her approximately 45–46 years old in 2026. She is part of the ESA astronaut class of 2022 and the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. Sources: ESA.