Watch Sophie Adenot return to Earth
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Crew-12 will return to Earth on 7–8 October 2026 after nearly eight months in orbit, concluding the εpsilon mission with splashdown off California.
Sophie Adenot and her Crew-12 teammates will undock from the International Space Station on 7 October at 12:05 GMT/14:05 CEST, initiating their return aboard a Dragon spacecraft. The crew will depart from the zenith-facing port of the Harmony module, executing a series of burns to distance themselves before re-entry. Live coverage of the undocking will be available on ESA Web TV and ESA’s YouTube channel, with further details provided in the article’s schedule.
During re-entry, the Dragon spacecraft will endure temperatures reaching up to 1600°C as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere. The heat shield will protect the capsule, ensuring the crew’s safe descent. The planned splashdown is scheduled for 8 October at 15:34 GMT/17:34 CEST off the coast of California, where a recovery team will retrieve the astronauts.
Following splashdown, Sophie Adenot will be transported to Cologne, Germany, where ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is located. She will begin post-flight activities at EAC and the nearby :envihab facility, operated by the German Aerospace Center. Her return marks the conclusion of the εpsilon mission, her first spaceflight, which began on 13 February 2026.
Sophie Adenot made history as the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk and the second European woman to do so, completing three spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 42 minutes. Her mission set a new European record for the longest single spaceflight at 200 consecutive days aboard the Station, surpassing previous records held by ESA astronauts Luca Parmitano and Thomas Pesquet.