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Born in France in 1982, Sophie Adenot is an engineer, helicopter test pilot and colonel in the French Air and Space Force. Selected as an ESA astronaut in 2022, she completed her basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in 2024 and launched to the International Space Station on 13 February 2026 for her first mission, εpsilon.
There are only a few days left to apply for the 2026 Graduate Trainee positions at the European Space Agency. Applications close on 28 February 2026, so this is your final chance to submit your application before the deadline!
Searching for life beyond Earth has rapidly advanced in recent years. However, directly imaging an exoplanet and all their incredible features remain elusive given the literal astronomical distances from Earth. Therefore, astronomers have settled by exploring exoplanet atmospheres for signatures of life, also called biosignatures. This is currently conducted by analyzing the starlight that passes through an exoplanet’s atmosphere, known as spectroscopy, as it passes in front of its star, also called a transit. But improvements continue to be made to better explore exoplanet atmospheres, specifically cleaning up messy data.
More than sixty years ago, Dr. Frank Drake and his colleagues conducted the very first experiment dedicated to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Since then, astronomers have continued to scan space for signs of alien transmissions, predominantly in the radio spectrum. In more recent years, the search has expanded to include thermal signatures and optical flashes, and additional forms of technological activity ("technosignatures") are already being incorporated. So far, all these experiments have produced null results, prompting SETI researchers to consider what they might be missing.
It feels so obvious that time moves forward that questioning it can seem almost pointless.
NASA's Perseverance rover can now pinpoint its exact location on Mars without help from Earth, paving the way for longer, more autonomous exploration.
Why do some places wait 1,000 years to see a total solar eclipse while others get two in a decade? The surprising orbital mechanics behind where eclipses happen — and don't.
By taking advantage of a maneuver that would see a spacecraft fire rocket engines while in the solar corona, that spacecraft’s velocity could receive a huge boost — enough to allow it to catch up with 3I/ATLAS, which is the fastest comet ever seen.
Two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, each carrying Starlink satellites, launched from California and Florida on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. The second booster set a new reuse record.
Our solar system hosts almost 900 known moons, with more than 400 orbiting the eight planets while the remaining orbit dwarf planets, asteroids, and Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Of these, only a handful are targets for astrobiology and could potentially support life as we know it, including Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede, and Saturn’s moon Titan and Enceladus. While these moons orbit two of the largest planets in our solar system, what about moons orbiting giant exoplanets, also called exomoons? But, to find life on exomoons, scientists need to find exomoons to begin with.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin the Starlink 6-104 mission on Feb. 21, 2026. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now
Update Feb. 21, 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC): SpaceX confirms satellite deployment.
A closeup view shows the NASA’s Artemis 2 SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft and launch abort system atop at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis 2 test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth. Image: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Engineers ran into problems repressurizing the Artemis 2 moon rocket’s upper stage helium tanks overnight Friday, a problem that will require rolling the huge rocket off the launch pad and back to its processing hangar for troubleshooting. The work will push the already delayed mission from March to at least early April, officials said Saturday.
NASA is troubleshooting a glitch with the upper stage of Artemis 2's Space Launch System rocket that will likely delay the launch of the moon mission.
On Episode 198 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Principal Investigator Dr. Elizabeth "Zibi" Turtle about the Dragonfly mission and what to expect in the coming years.
I tried out Canon's latest vlogging camera for astrophotography, the PowerShot V1 and managed to capture the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way!
Is an orbiting space station necessary to achieve lunar objectives, including scientific ones?
Arnie said, "Get your ass to Mars", but is it really a good idea? We asked the experts about our Martian future.
Astronomers suspect the heart of the Milky Way may be hiding a big secret: a rapidly spinning, highly magnetic, neutron star-powered pulsar.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have investigated 70 dusty galaxies at the very edge of the universe that challenge our understanding of cosmic evolution.
The lovable old-school Toy Story gang takes on mesmerizing modern digital devices in the first trailer for Pixar's "Toy Story 5."
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