The εpsilon mission

Sophie was selected as an ESA career astronaut in 2022 and is now training intensively for her first spaceflight: the εpsilon mission, scheduled to launch no earlier than February 15, 2026. She will travel to the International Space Station for a long-duration mission, conducting a wide range of tasks, including European-led scientific experiments, medical research, support Earth observation and contribute to operations and maintenance on the Station.

εpsilon, named after the fifth Greek letter and the fifth brightest star in Leo, symbolises the power of small yet meaningful contributions and honours ESA’s five career astronauts. Its patch features a hummingbird at the centre—a symbol of how even the smallest actions can lead to great achievements. Encircling the design is a ring of dots representing all individual contributions to a spaceflight, with three coloured dots for the French flag and ESA’s destinations: Earth, Moon, and Mars. Five stars pay tribute to the astronaut class, while flowing lines form a shooting star tail, evoking dreams and exploration. At the base, a rounded blue shape depicts Earth’s beauty, reminding us why we venture into space: to learn and return knowledge for life on our planet.