French astronaut Sophie Adenot on returning to Earth: she lived through all human emotions

French astronaut Sophie Adenot, 44, made her first public remarks on Saturday in Cologne, Germany, since coming back from an eight-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS). She spent 235 days in space, the longest uninterrupted orbital stay by any European astronaut.

Adenot splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast on Thursday aboard the Dragon capsule carrying the Crew-12 team. On Saturday she addressed reporters on the tarmac of the European Space Agency (ESA) training centre in Cologne, at times in tears.

Emotions and a view from orbit

Adenot said she went through "all human emotions, from the most joyful to the hardest" during the mission. From about 400 km above Earth, she said, there are no divisions or borders, only "a precious planet that we all share".

She said being back is wonderful but brings its own challenges, especially physical ones. She described the splashdown as difficult: the capsule carrying the four astronauts of her team had to withstand heavy waves for 25 minutes. When the commandos pulled her from the capsule, she said, her first words were a request to be sent back to space, because it had been much easier up there.

Recovery

On arrival in Germany Adenot looked visibly weakened and was helped by two ESA physicians. In space the body adapts to the absence of gravity, which can cause bone loss, muscle wasting, cardiovascular deconditioning and even vision problems. She must now follow an intensive recovery programme of about three weeks to regain her pre-flight condition.

During the mission Adenot became the first French woman astronaut to go outside the station on a spacewalk. In total she carried out three spacewalks, on August 18 and 25 and on September 1.