French astronaut Sophie Adenot said on Saturday that she had gone through “all human emotions, from the most joyful to the hardest” during her eight months in space. Speaking on the tarmac at the European Space Agency’s training centre in Cologne, Germany, she said that from 400 km away Earth showed “no divisions, no borders.”
Adenot splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, off the coast of California, in the Dragon capsule that carried the Crew-12 team. She had returned from the International Space Station after a total of 235 days in orbit, a record for the longest uninterrupted orbital stay by a European astronaut.
Recovery after months of weightlessness in orbit
Adenot looked visibly weakened on arrival in Germany and was helped by two ESA physicians. The agency noted that the body adapts to the absence of gravity, which can lead to bone loss, muscle wasting, cardiovascular deconditioning and even visual problems.
She must now begin an intensive recovery programme of about three weeks to regain her pre-flight condition. Adenot is 44 years old.
Splashdown, spacewalks and a wish to return
Adenot described the splashdown as a difficult moment, saying the capsule carrying the four astronauts on her team endured “a lot of waves for 25 minutes.” She told a press conference that returning was “a cocktail of astonishing emotions,” adding that it came with challenges, especially physiological ones.
During the mission she became the first French female astronaut to venture outside the station on a spacewalk. She carried out three spacewalks in total, on August 18 and 25, and on September 1. Once she was out of the capsule, she said, her first words to the recovery team were, “Send me back to space, please!”
