Sophie Adenot returns to Europe after 237 days in space | εpsilon mission

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot has arrived back in Europe, landing in Cologne, Germany, two days after splashing down off the coast of California with her Crew-12 crewmates, following 237 days, nearly eight months, aboard the International Space Station for her εpsilon mission. From Ellington Field in Houston, Sophie boarded a French Air and Space Force Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix bound for ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. She landed at 04:21 GMT/06:21 CEST on 10 October and was warmly welcomed on the apron by family, friends, colleagues, journalists and representatives from ESA Member States. She gave a short speech before answering questions from journalists. Sophie will spend the next two to three weeks adjusting to Earth’s gravity and undergoing data collections at :envihab, a German Aerospace Center (DLR) facility located next to EAC. DLR teams work closely with ESA, providing operational, medical and scientific expertise to support astronauts’ return, recovery and readaptation to life on Earth. Sophie will then continue her rehabilitation and follow-up activities with the EAC training team. Credits: European Space Agency (ESA) Access the video on the ESA video library: