Story perspectives

Crew-12 splashes down after eight-month ISS mission

By Drooid · Oct 8, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Crew-12 returned to Earth after an eight-month ISS mission, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct 8, 2026.
The crew consisted of NASA commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
Sophie Adenot became the first French woman to walk in space, completing three EVAs.
Jessica Meir performed four spacewalks totaling just over 27 hours to maintain the aging outpost.

History

Historical Context

When Claudie Haigneré flew aboard Soyuz TM-24 in 1999, she became the first French woman to reach orbit, marking Europe’s deepening role in human spaceflight. NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos jointly funded the International Space Station, a $150 billion orbital laboratory that has hosted over 240 astronauts since its 1998 launch. The 2026 Crew-12 splashdown, featuring Jessica Meir’s 27-hour EVA record and Sophie Adenot’s historic French-woman walk, mirrors Haigneré’s pioneering breakthrough by extending multinational crew achievements. These successive milestones reinforce the ISS’s role as a platform for gender diversity and international cooperation, shaping future lunar gateway partnerships.

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Story summary

Crew-12 returned to Earth after an eight-month ISS mission, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct 8, 2026.
The crew consisted of NASA commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
Sophie Adenot became the first French woman to walk in space, completing three EVAs.
Jessica Meir performed four spacewalks totaling just over 27 hours to maintain the aging outpost.

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