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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
RFI

French astronaut recounts 'astonishing' emotions after return to Earth

European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft aboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon after splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, on 8 October, 2026.
European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft aboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon after splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, on 8 October, 2026. NASA via AP - Keegan Barber

French astronaut Sophie Adenot has returned back to earth full of "emotion" after spending eight months in space – breaking the record for the longest uninterrupted orbital stay by a European astronaut. She will complete a recovery programme at the European Space Agency centre in Cologne, Germany before returning to France.

Adenot splashed down in the Pacific Ocean Thursday off the coast of California in the Dragon capsule that carried Crew-12, having returned to Earth from a mission on the International Space Station (ISS).

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