Hervé Stevenin

[🇫🇷 version FR👇] A look back at atmospheric reentry, a rollercoaster both physically and emotionally! 🎥 @esa Retour sur les sensations fortes de la rentrée atmosphérique, tant dans le corps que dans la tête ! #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @ESA_fr • @Space_Station

[🇫🇷 version FR 👇] First rehabilitation session in the pool last week, at EAC’s Neutral Buoyancy Facility (NBF). Such an incredible feeling: the joy of being back in the water, the sensation of being in microgravity again, and this profound sense of well-being. Almost like being reborn. 🎥/📸 @esa Première séance de réhabilitation en piscine la semaine dernière, dans le bassin du Laboratoire de flottabilité nulle (NBF) de l’EAC. Des sensations incroyables : le bonheur de retrouver l’eau, l’impression d’être à nouveau en micropesanteur et un profond sentiment de bien-être. Presque une renaissance ! #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @ESA_fr

All that exercise in orbit is paying off: my muscles are in good shape! Balance is another story though: even the simplest exercises still require a lot of focus. But it’s getting better little by little. I’m on the right track! Photos and video from my first reconditioning session, today! 📸 @esa Grâce à tout le sport fait en orbite, mes muscles répondent présent ! Pour l’équilibre, c’est une autre histoire : même les exercices les plus simples demandent encore une concentration intense. Mais ça revient petit à petit, je suis sur la bonne voie ! Quelques images de ma première session de réhabilitation, aujourd’hui! #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @ESA_fr

Just in time! Some cities seem to enjoy hiding under the clouds ☁️ whenever the Station flies overhead… It took until 6 October, the day before undocking, for me to finally catch Cologne and the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) on camera, with no clouds! I’m currently flying towards that very airport, so to all the @esaspaceflight teams at EAC and the German Aerospace Center (@DLR_SpaceAgency): I can’t wait to see you again! 🫶 📸 @esa / @NASA – S. Adenot Juste à temps! Certaines villes jouent à se cacher sous les nuages ☁️ quand la Station passe au-dessus d’elles… Ce n’est que le 6 octobre, la veille du désamarrage, que j’ai enfin réussi à photographier Cologne et le Centre européen des astronautes (EAC) sans nuages ! Je suis en train de voler en ce moment même vers cet aéroport, alors à toutes les équipes de l’EAC et du Centre aérospatial allemand DLR : j’ai hâte de vous retrouver ! 🫶 #εpsilon • @ESA_fr

[🇫🇷 version FR 👇] Day 229 orbit 2549 – As the end of a mission gets closer, you start thinking about familiar smells, tastes and sensations. You can almost imagine them again. And at the very same time, you look around and realise how much you’re going to miss microgravity… and the unparalleled view of our beautiful blue planet 🌍. You can’t wait to go home and, at the same time, wish it didn’t have to end just yet ☺️. I think we all know that feeling… For anyone who’s never tasted a galette or set foot in a French crêperie, here’s a quick introduction! A galette is a comfort-food staple from Brittany (north-western France), and the savoury counterpart to the crêpe. The difference is both in the batter and what goes inside: galettes are made with buckwheat flour and water and usually have savoury fillings, while crêpes are made with wheat flour, milk and eggs and tend to be sweet. A classic Breton galette is filled with ham and grated cheese, cooked with a little salted butter, topped with a fried egg, and served with a salad on the side! 🎥 @esa / @NASA Jour 229, orbite 3549 – À mesure que la fin d’une mission approche, on se remet à penser à des odeurs, des goûts et des sensations familières, jusqu’à presque les ressentir. Et en même temps, je regarde autour de moi et je réalise à quel point la micropesanteur va me manquer… tout comme cette vue incroyable sur notre belle planète bleue 🌍. Avoir hâte de rentrer et, en même temps, avoir envie que cela continue encore un peu ☺️. Je crois qu’on connaît tous ce sentiment… #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @ESA_fr • @NASAJohnson • @CNES

Day 218 orbit 3379 — Successful EVAs often depend on finding the right working position. And sometimes, what seems like an unusual move turns out to be exactly what's needed. I'll never forget this moment from EVA-98: switching sides gave me the leverage I needed to free the failed SGANT antenna from its stowage position. 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson

Jour 218, orbite 3379 – La clé d’une sortie extravéhiculaire réussie, c’est de trouver les bonnes positions de travail – la solution passe parfois par une figure qui n’est pas au manuel ! Je n’oublierai jamais ce moment de l’EVA-98 : passer de l’autre côté m’a permis de libérer pour de bon l’antenne SGANT défaillante de sa position de stockage. 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson • @ESA_fr • @CNES

Day 210, orbit 3255 — A few pictures from EVA-99! In some of them, you can really see just how small I am compared to the Station, which is roughly the size of a football field. And believe me, there were moments when I felt truly humbled in my spacesuit, orbiting 400 km above Earth. 📸 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson

Jour 210, orbite 3255 – Quelques photos de l’EVA-99 ! Sur certaines d’entre elles, on se rend vraiment compte à quel point je suis petite par rapport à la Station, qui est à peu près de la taille d’un terrain de football. Et croyez-moi, il y a eu des moments où je me suis sentie vraiment minuscule dans ma combinaison spatiale, en orbite à 400 km au-dessus de la Terre. 📸 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson • @ESA_fr • @CNES

[🇫🇷 version FR 👇] Day 204 orbit 3163 — Job with a view (and what a view!) 💙 🎥 @esa / @NASA Jour 204, orbite 3163 – Bureau avec vue (et quelle vue !) 💙 #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson • @ESA_fr • @CNES

Day 202 orbit 3131 — And that's three! Who remembers Jack standing at the bow of the Titanic 🚢, gazing out at the endless blue ocean ahead? That image popped into my mind as I reached the forward end of the Station to replace a retroreflector crucial for Dragon spacecraft dockings. Definitely one of the most beautiful views in the world, and at the same time a bit intimidating from inside my spacesuit, with 400 km of emptiness beneath my feet. Ahead of me, nothing but the hypnotic blue of Earth 🌏, contrasting with the infinitely deep black of space. I arrived there during orbital night, my way lit only by my helmet lights, and then the Sun peeked over the horizon, illuminating our magnificent planet as it rotated beneath me. Just... wow! They say that the journey matters more than the destination 😉 Reaching this part of the Station requires carefully making your way through dozens of structures and items that you absolutely must not touch, neither with the bulky rigid spacesuit nor with the tethers and straps that accompany every movement. Add to that handrails crowded with cables, and tools that seem to have a natural tendency to snag on anything they can... Imagine moving slowly, methodically and precisely through a cactus 🌵 forest, doing everything you can to avoid the spines! I had been warned: "It's complicated, but it's doable." Of all the tasks I was entrusted with, this is probably the one I'm happiest to have completed successfully. What an adventure these three spacewalks have been! But it will be good to catch my breath and recover physically before our return to Earth, which is also quite a challenge for the human body. 🫶 The teams were incredible. A huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make these EVAs a success. 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson