“It was much easier up there”: discover the first words of French astronaut Sophie Adenot upon her return to Earth

French astronaut Sophie Adenot went through “all human emotions, from the most joyful to the most difficult” during her eight months in space, she said during her first public appearance on dry land, Saturday in Cologne, Germany.

400 km from Earth, there are “no divisions, no borders” and we see “just a precious planet that we all share,” said Sophie Adenot, in tears at times and physically supported upon her arrival on the tarmac of the European Space Agency (ESA) training center.

When she got off the plane, the 44-year-old astronaut seemed visibly weakened and was supported by two ESA surgeons before arriving at the lectern where she was expected to speak. A wheelchair had been brought in case she needed it, but she preferred to walk. A few meters away, dozens of people, including colleagues from the ESA, came carrying French flags to cheer him on his arrival.

“It’s a cocktail of astonishing emotions, it’s incredible, it’s great to be back on Earth, but also it has its share of challenges, especially physiological,” she declared a few minutes later at a press conference.

She notably explained the “difficult” moment that was the landing in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, where the capsule which brought back the four astronauts of her team had to endure “a lot of waves for 25 minutes”. “And when the commandos took me out of the capsule, the first thing I said to them was ‘send me to space, please!’ It was a lot easier up there,” she said with a smile.

At the ESA astronaut training center, Sophie Adenot must now begin a recovery program of around three weeks. In space, the body adapts to the absence of gravity, which results in bone loss, muscle wasting, cardiovascular deconditioning and even visual disturbances. It will take many months and training based on targeted physical exercises to regain his pre-flight shape.

Sophie Adenot landed late Thursday afternoon in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California, after a grueling 27-hour journey. She will have spent a total of 235 days in space, breaking the record for the longest continuous orbital stay for a European astronaut, man or woman combined.