She’s Going Outside! French Astronaut Makes History in Space Tomorrow
Quick Summary
Tomorrow, Tuesday August 18, astronaut Sophie Adenot will step outside the International Space Station. She will be the first French woman in history to walk in space. She and NASA astronaut Anil Menon will spend about six and a half hours outside the station.
What Happened?
The International Space Station floats about 250 miles above Earth. That is roughly the same distance as driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas — but straight up! Every so often, astronauts have to go outside to fix or replace parts. Scientists call this a spacewalk, even though there is no air or ground outside.
NASA has planned three spacewalks this August. The second one, called U.S. Spacewalk 97, is set for tomorrow morning. Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Anil Menon of NASA will be the team.
Their main job is to replace an antenna on the outside of the station. This antenna is like the station’s phone. It lets astronauts send and receive high-speed messages between the station and Mission Control in Houston, Texas.
Adenot has been living on the space station since February 2026. She is already a trailblazer. She was France’s first female helicopter test pilot back in 2018. Now she is about to take her biggest leap yet.
The spacewalk is expected to start around 8:35 in the morning, Eastern time. You can watch it live on NASA+, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and the X platform. Coverage begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
Why Does It Matter?
For more than 60 years, humans have been going on spacewalks. No French woman had ever done one — until now.
Adenot’s achievement shows kids everywhere that hard work and big dreams really do pay off. She was turned down the first time she applied to be an astronaut. She applied again years later and was chosen out of 22,000 candidates.
Replacing the antenna also matters a lot. Without good communications, astronauts and ground controllers cannot share data, photos, or science results quickly. Keeping that link strong helps everyone on board stay safe.
Big Words
- Spacewalk — when an astronaut leaves the spacecraft and works in the vacuum of space outside, wearing a special protective suit
- Antenna — a device that sends and receives signals, like a radio tower or the Wi-Fi router in your home, but for space
- Expedition 75 — the name of the current crew mission living and working aboard the International Space Station
- ESA — the European Space Agency, which is like NASA but run by European countries working together
- Vacuum — a space with no air at all; outside a spacecraft, there is nothing to breathe and temperatures swing from boiling hot to freezing cold
Fun Fact
Sophie Adenot has logged more than 3,000 flight hours as a helicopter pilot and flew 120 combat missions — all before she ever went to space!
Think About It
If you could fix or build one thing on the outside of a space station, what would it be and why?
Sources
- NASA — ‘NASA to Cover Three US Spacewalks, Host Preview News Conference’
- Euronews — ‘Sophie Adenot to become first Frenchwoman to walk in space’
- NASA ISS Blog — ‘Space Station Crew Wraps Busy Week, Plans New Date for US Spacewalk 97’