A biography of Sophie Adenot’s extraordinary journey from pilot to astronaut. Following in the footsteps of a certain Claudie Haigneré…
1996. Claudie Haigneré (who wrote the book’s foreword) became the first French woman in space as part of the Franco-Russian Cassiopée mission.
2026. Now it’s Sophie Adenot’s turn—the second French woman to reach for the stars—to join the exclusive club of European astronauts, after emerging victorious from a selection process involving some 22,500 candidates.
In the intervening three decades, Sophie Adenot undoubtedly dreamed of the clouds, perhaps even of the Moon… On the occasion of the first flight to the International Space Station (ISS) since Thomas Pesquet’s in 2021, she is participating in the Epsilon mission, which began on February 13, 2026.
Marc Dana, a senior correspondent for France Télévisions, has written a book rich in exclusive interviews, archival material unearthed from the “attic,” and other rare documents, all dedicated to Sophie Adenot, an officer in the French Air and Space Force and a helicopter test pilot. The journalist chronicles her doubts, her certainties, her struggles, the names of those who inspired the young woman, the missions she is typically assigned, as well as the details of her extraordinary physical and mental preparation. The result is a biography at the crossroads of personal commitment and the great adventure of space exploration. With a name—Sophie Adenot—that now stands alongside all the space adventurers who have shaped the legend of the field: Armstrong, Aldrin, Gagarin, Chrétien, Haigneré…
Book. “Sophie Adenot, From Earth to the Stars—The Extraordinary Destiny of a French Astronaut.” Author: Marc Dana. Éditions du Rocher. EAN: 9782268112992