On Wednesday November 23, 2022, Sophie Adenot was chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to join the new promotion of European astronauts. The opportunity to learn a little more about his personal life.
More than twenty years after Claudie Haigneré, France counts a second French astronaut. On Wednesday November 23, the European Space Agency (ESA) unveiled, in Paris, the list of its new promotion of European astronauts. Among the five selected, the French Sophie Adenot. Aged 40, she is an air force officer and was already the first female helicopter test pilot.
An incredible chance for the Frenchwoman who was chosen among the 22,523 European candidates during a recruitment campaign launched in February 2021.”One is never confident, when one sees how many candidates there are! We just make our way hoping that we will pass the next stages of selections” she reacted after her appointment. Her promotion also consists of the Spaniard Pablo Alvarez Fernandez, the Briton Rosemary Coogan, the Belgian Raphaël Liégeois and the Swiss Marco Sieber. Finally, the Briton John McFall, amputated of the right leg and ex-athlete, was named a parastronaut.
Sophie Adenot has an impressive career path
Originally from Burgundy, Sophie Adenot was graduated in 2004 from the National School of Aeronautics and Space, the same school as that of Thomas Pesquet, located in Toulouse. After graduating, she worked at Airbus before joining French Air Force to learn how to fly helicopters. In 2018, she stood out by becoming the first female experimental helicopter test pilot in France.
After several promotions within the army, she obtains the rank of lieutenant colonel in May 2021. During her career, Sophie Adenot has performed two missions in Afghanistan, at the controls of the Caracal. She also participated in combat search and rescue missions and flew Super Pumas.
The new astronaut would be a mother of two children
In terms of her private life, the new astronaut would be married and mother of two childrenaccording to information from France 24. His passion for aviation would have been transmitted to him by his grandfather. “It was my grandfather who gave me his love of machines, because he was a mechanic in the air force“ she had revealed in a video published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Regarding her other skills and hobbies, Sophie Adenot fluent in English, but also German, Spanish and Russian. She has a military parachuting license, has 15 years of experience as a science popularizer and is mountain sports enthusiast. She is also a certified yoga teacher and has a scuba diving license. A full life and many skills that could one day allow him to go into space.