Education
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Astronaut Sophie Adenot answers questions from Nouvelle-Aquitaine school pupils live from space

Updated on: 21/04/2026

On Monday 20 April at the Bordeaux Institute of Technology (IUT), school students of primary to high school age shared an extraordinary moment by speaking to Sophie Adenot, an astronaut on board the ISS, via radio. This was the final culmination of an educational project launched in 2024, an event blending sciences, teamwork and emotion, offering young people an experience to remember.

Photo : During this radio communication with Sophie Adenot, there was both sound—of remarkable quality—and video! © Olivier Got / university of Bordeaux — During this radio communication with Sophie Adenot, there was both sound—of remarkable quality—and video! © Olivier Got / university of Bordeaux

Monday 20 April. The big day has arrived, the end—or rather, the culmination—of an adventure embarked upon in December 2024, initiated by a team from the university composed of research professors Simon Hemour and Timothée Levi, co-director of the Bordeaux Institute of Technology Pascale Vergely, and project manager Sarah Reverdy. Today, school students from all around the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region have assembled at the Bordeaux Institute of Technology in Gradignan, representing the fifty classes, from 6 to 18 years old, participating in Mission: Sophie, an educational adventure unlike any other.

In just a few moments, twenty of these students will get the chance to ask European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot a question, who will respond live from the ISS, where she is currently posted, in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 400 km. The excited pupils have just spent half an hour rehearsing their turns at the mic, each phrasing their question as succinctly as possible, closed with an “over” which would signal to their distinguished recipient that it is her turn to speak...
A few minutes before radio contact, tensions are high.

Contact must be established by radio. This exercise is no simple phone call: it has taken months of preparation and the construction of a special antenna in front of the IUT building to make this 15-minute conversation with the astronaut possible. To celebrate this incredible opportunity, talks by project leaders have been scheduled in the main lecture hall of the IUT, while radio contact is prepared in a separate room. A few minutes before the broadcast, the team calls for silence, and everyone’s heart starts to beat a little faster...

A few minutes before radio contact, tensions are high. © university of Bordeaux

Suspense and joy

“This is Foxtrot Five Kilo Bravo Whisky for the scheduled ARISS contact…” Tao Gaudoneix, a third-year electrical engineering and industrial computing student, repeats this strange incantation six, seven, eight times, hoping it will magically conjure up Sophie Adenot’s voice. “This is Foxtrot Five Kilo Bravo Whisky for the scheduled ARISS contact...” Tao remains calm despite the dizzying suspense, in front of all the journalists, teachers, partners and students waiting with bated breath.

Suddenly, a false alert takes the young man by surprise, his eyes wide: in an unexpected twist, a male voice breaks the silence! An amateur radio operator has tuned into the frequency. Tao politely tells him to “stand by” before calmly repeating those magic words: “This is Foxtrot Five Kilo Bravo Whisky for the scheduled ARISS contact...”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice breaks through the crackling of the static, clear as day: “This is Oscar Romeo Four India Sierra Sierra!” Her next words are drowned out by applause and cheers of joy in the room. Tao and his classmates are beaming ear to ear. “That’s wonderful, Sophie! We can hear you five-nine on the ground, we’re delighted to have you with us. Here are our questions!”

Léa, a year 2 pupil, is the first to take the mic, her little voice like something out of an animated film: “Hi Sophie, Léa here. How does it feel to be in space? Over!” The astronaut’s answer comes through instantly, full of joy and impressively clear. “Hello Léa. In space you feel like you’re floating, it’s honestly fantastic. Your body is super light, it’s really fun!” A few minutes later, cheers and applause fill the room once again: Sophie Adenot’s face is visible on screen.

Léa is the youngest member of the Mission: Sophie project

« Il y a tellement de choses extraordinaires ici, je me concentre surtout sur ce que j’ai, et pas sur ce qui me manque », a expliqué Sophie Adenot en réponse à la question d'une élève © université de Bordeaux

More questions follow, 18 in all, and Sophie Adenot responds to each of them in a precise and cheerful manner, appearing deeply moved when, twelve minutes later, it’s time to say goodbye. The communication has come to an end. The Mission: Sophie team thank their muse and all the participants head to the main lecture hall to listen to the talks being held. That evening, or that weekend, they will most likely be rewatching the full conversation on the University’s YouTube channel... Perhaps, in a few years, some of them will even be inspired to pursue scientific studies and careers. In the meantime, they’ll be back at the University of Bordeaux the following week to properly conclude this adventure with a project feedback session. “Over!”

Tao Gaudoneix, third year student at the department of electrical engineering and industrial computing (GEII) of the Bordeaux Institute of Technology.

“Each amateur radio operator has their own call sign that must be relayed using the NATO alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.). That’s what you heard me reading out at the start of our conversation with Sophie Adenot. I was the one at the mic, but there’s a whole team of us at the Bordeaux Institute of Technology that has been meeting every week for months, come rain or shine, to prepare for this! We couldn’t imagine it not being a success, we did so many tests, and all signals were go. We were all super stressed and when we finally heard her voice, so clearly as well, it was very moving.”

I wanted to do this job so I could lead an adventurous life and go exploring; I was curious, and I wanted to do science as well, and to travel a lot, and to work with people from all over the world who speak all sorts of languages.

Sophie Adenot, European Space Agency astronaut