Cologne – France's Sophie Adenot – chosen to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month mission – dreamed of spaceflight since she was a child, but was warned off being too ambitious.
"I grew up hearing from the people around me: 'don't dream that big; it will never happen'," Adenot told RFI in April, after being certified as the second French woman astronaut in history.
"Sometimes I would listen but mainly I wouldn't."
This week the 41-year-old was selected, alongside Belgium's Raphael Liegeois as the first of a new class of European astronauts to go to the ISS.
She'll join the onboard crew in orbit some 400 kilometres above Earth – becoming the second French woman aboard the ISS after Claudie Haigneré in 2001.
After her six-month stay, Adenot will be replaced by Liegeois.
Aim high
An engineer, helicopter test pilot and air force colonel, Adenot advises young people to aim for the sky.
"Don't be afraid of failing. I tried twice for selection," she said, referring to her acceptance into the European Space Agency's (ESA) astronaut programme in 2022.
"In 2009 it didn't work. I was too young, probably, but I learned a lot along the way."
Adenot and Liegeois were among five new ESA astronauts selected out of more than 20,000 applicants.
👩🚀👨🚀We have two new astronauts going to space!
— European Space Agency (@esa) May 22, 2024
@Soph_Astro and @Raph_Astro are the first two astronauts from the ESA astronaut class of 2022 who will embark on long-duration missions to the International @Space_Station currently scheduled for 2026.
🔗 https://t.co/q4MPVU6xwX pic.twitter.com/mw3XUjTpsj
