French astronaut Sophie Adenot prepares for historic first spacewalk

French astronaut Sophie Adenot is poised to make history with her first spacewalk outside the International Space Station, a significant moment for France in space exploration. This extravehicular activity (EVA), occurring approximately 400 kilometers above Earth, is a key event during her mission aboard the ISS and will be broadcast live by NASA.

Adenot has emphasized the rigorous preparation involved in such a complex operation. "The success of a spacewalk is prepared long before the airlock opens, and that's what I've focused all my attention on in recent days: rehearsals, preparation, and concentration," she stated on X. This meticulous approach underscores the high stakes and technical demands of working in the vacuum of space.

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The success of a spacewalk is prepared long before the airlock opens, and that's what I've focused all my attention on in recent days: rehearsals, preparation, and concentration.

She joins an elite group of French astronauts who have performed EVAs, including Jean-Loup Chrétien, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Philippe Perrin, and Thomas Pesquet. Philippe Perrin, a test pilot at Airbus, holds the national record with three spacewalks totaling twenty hours during his 2002 mission. Perrin described the experience as a "great privilege and a great responsibility," noting that outside the station, astronauts become "a satellite, projected into space," an experience he called "close to nirvana."

Born in 1982, Adenot's journey to space began with engineering studies at ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse, specializing in flight dynamics. She furthered her expertise with a Master of Science in Human Factors Engineering at MIT in Boston, where her thesis focused on how the vestibular system adapts to artificial gravity, aiming to improve centrifuge training for astronauts.

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Outside, in a spacesuit, you become a satellite, you are projected into space. It's an experience that touches on nirvana. I felt a kind of total well-being and I wished that moment could last forever.