France, Nov. 30 -- "The countdown has officially begun, everything is going perfectly."

Adenot was all smiles as she greeted journalists in Toulouse on Monday to discuss theEpsilon mission to the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for next February, inone of her last public appearances before her departure.

An engineer by training and a helicopter test pilot for the French Air and Space Force, Adenot is France's first female astronaut since Claudie Haignere 25 years ago.

The 43-year-old was selected to represent the next generationof European Space Agency (ESA)astronauts in April 2022.

Aiming for the stars lands French astronaut Sophie Adenot a ticket to ISS

To prepare herself, she says can rely on the experience of former ...