A milestone for France in space
French astronaut Sophie Adenot made history on August 18, 2026, when she became the first French woman to carry out a spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS). As reported by France 24, Adenot spent more than six hours outside the station, accompanied by American astronaut Anil Menon. The spacewalk was part of her mission to the ISS.
The achievement was anticipated in the days leading up to the event. Euronews reported that the spacewalk was scheduled to start at around 1435 CET and last six and a half hours, with the goal of replacing a space-to-ground antenna on the orbital complex, according to NASA. Adenot, 44, was set to become the second European woman to conduct a spacewalk, after Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's mission in 2022.
Preparation and purpose
Adenot had been preparing for the operation for several days aboard the ISS, which orbits 400 kilometers above the Earth. In a post on X on Sunday, she shared her focus: "A successful (spacewalk) starts long before the hatch opens and that's where my focus has been these past few days: rehearsing, preparing and focusing."
The antenna being replaced is key to high-speed communications and data transmission between the ISS and mission control in Houston, Euronews noted. During the spacewalk, flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir were monitoring the spacewalkers and operating a robotic arm from inside the station, NASA said.
A team effort
Adenot's role has not been confined to this single spacewalk. After a previous spacewalk, when she supported Meir and Menon, Ahmet wrote on social media that "while the spacewalkers are the ones out in the spotlight, (extravehicular activities) are very much a team effort and it's always a privilege to support the crew from within."
Her journey to this milestone has been remarkable. An engineer by training and a former test pilot, Adenot became in February the second French woman in history to fly into space, after pioneer Claudie Haingéré. The last French person to walk in space was Thomas Pesquet, who did so six times over two stays aboard the ISS.
The bigger week in pictures
The spacewalk was one of several notable events captured in the week's imagery. France 24's roundup included images of Russian drone strikes in Ukraine, with a couple watching the smoke rise in Kyiv on August 20, 2026. In Europe, a wildfire in Waimes, Belgium, left charred tree stumps in a forest area on August 17, and another blazed in Debljatska Peščara, about 70 kilometers northeast of Belgrade, Serbia, on August 20.
On a lighter note, members of the Cameroon women's football team celebrated their victory in the African Women's Cup of Nations with a parade in the capital on August 17. In Spain, migrants were escorted by authorities from a beach in Ceuta to official shelters on August 20, following a wave of migration in late July.
The photograph shows women in Tehran walking past a portrait of the late supreme leader, and a Palestinian boy is seen in the city of Nabled, in the West Bank, in a separate image.
Perspectives
Sophie Adenot, on her mission: "A successful (spacewalk) starts long before the hatch opens and that's where my focus has been these past few days: rehearsing, preparing and focusing," she said on X.
NASA, as reported by Euronews: The antenna being replaced is key to high-speed communications and data transmission between the ISS and mission control in Houston.