Sophie Adenot has just been appointed by the European Space Agency to go into space, starting in 2026. Here are six things to know about the French astronaut who made his dreams come true.
He will be the first winner of the new promotion of Esa to go to space, in 2026, as announced by the European Space Agency on Wednesday, May 22. Sophie Adenot, a young forty years old, has more busy life. Picture of a woman who made all her dreams come true.
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Inspired by Marie Curie and Claudie Haigneré
Granddaughter of a former Air Force mechanic, who passed on his love for aeronautics and space, Sophie Adenot confided to La Dépêche du Midi: “I grew up in a family where we were pushed to be curious about everything. Growing up I am with the soul of an explorer.”
His dream of space began at a young age: “My sister always reminds me that when I was little, the only poster in my room was of a rocket,” he says. It all started with “reading the biography of Marie Curie, this great woman who inspired so many people”. Then, at the age of 14, Claudie Haigneré’s first flight was “a real change”. “I wouldn’t have gotten there if I didn’t have role models,” greeted the astronaut.
Toulouse in the heart
As for Thomas Pesquet before him, Toulouse is counting on the career of Sophie Adenot. The astronaut studied at the ISAE-SupAéro school, the Higher Institute of Aeronautics and Space, where he obtained a degree in engineering in 2004 with a specialization in flight dynamics of space engines and aircraft. He spoke of the “wonderful teachers at school” who “helped him gain confidence”. And always returned to this school where he “enjoyed passing it on to the young”. Since 2009, he is a sponsor of the “Ose l’ISAE-SupAéro” social opening system, which aims to improve access to higher education for middle and high school students from the priorities that neighborhoods and isolated rural areas.
Helicopter pilot
Sophie Adenot’s professional career began at Airbus Helicopters as an engineer in the design office, where she designed helicopter cockpits. Then he joined the Air Force. After getting her helicopter pilot’s license, Sophie Adenot did search and rescue and then presidential transport missions for fifteen years.
In 2019, she became the first female helicopter test pilot in France. He has over 3,000 flight hours in 22 types of helicopters. An experienced parachutist, Sophie is also a light aircraft and glider pilot.
Failed in 2008
The Frenchwoman first tried to be elected by Esa in 2008, the promotion of Thomas Pesquet. He speaks La Dépêche du Midi impatiently waiting for the opening of the new selection. “I was told ten years and nothing came. On the day I turned 38, I told myself I had to find something else… Except that in 2021, the recruitment increased to 50 years, I work in particular the cognitive aspect. many memory and IQ tests because, through training, you improve at a high speed, like an athlete”, confirms Sophie Adenot.
Yoga teacher
A skilled sportswoman, Sophie Adenot practices mountain biking, skiing and scuba diving. And for ten years, he was a fan of yoga, which allowed him to manage his stress, which was very useful to him in space. He trusted France Inter that yoga brings him “peace”, and allows him to “maintain the body in good health” and “performance, if necessary”. And because the forty-year-old never does things by halves, he became a certified yoga teacher and delivers a class every month to some of his friends.
Housewife
Sophie Adenot is also the happy mother of a little boy. “He was just happy for his mom to see me come home with that smile on my face,” she said Televisions in France. “If someone is happy, the other is happy to share,” he declared France 24. “When you do things out of the ordinary, you usually have a supportive family behind it.”