The US space agency's Crew-12 arrived at the orbiting laboratory after a journey of about 34 hours that started with blastoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
"We have bridged the legacy of humankind's continuous presence in space spanning more than 25 years at this very site," American astronaut Jessica Meir said after docking at the ISS.
"As we look back at Earth from these windows, we are reminded that cooperation is not just possible, it is essential. Up here, there are no borders and hope is universal."
Other members of Crew-12 are American Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
The foursome are replacing Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January a month earlier than planned in the first medical evacuation in the space station's history.
The ISS, which orbits 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, has since been staffed by a skeleton crew of three.
NASA declined to disclose any details about the health issue that cut the previous mission short.
Crew-12 will be one of the last crews to live aboard the football field-sized space station.
Continuously inhabited for the last quarter-century, the aging ISS is scheduled to be pushed into Earth's orbit before crashing into an isolated spot in the Pacific Ocean in 2030.
- Microgravity and the human body -
During their eight months on the outpost, the astronauts will conduct many experiments, including research into the effects of microgravity on their bodies.
Meir, who previously worked as a marine biologist studying animals in extreme environments, will serve as the crew's commander.
Adenot has become the second French woman to fly into space, following in the footsteps of Claudie Haignere, who spent time on the Mir space station.
Among other research, she will test a system that uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to allow astronauts to carry out their own medical ultrasounds.
"I am proud to bring France and Europe along on this incredible adventure that transcends borders," Adenot said.
"Count on me to share every step with you and bring a sparkle to the eyes of the French people."
The ISS, once a symbol of warming post-Cold War relations, has been a rare area of continued cooperation between the West and Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
However, the space station has not entirely avoided the tensions back on Earth.
In November, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev -- who had long been planned to be a member of Crew-12 -- was suddenly taken off the mission.
Reports from independent media in Russia suggested he had been photographing and sending classified information with his phone while training at a SpaceX facility. Russian space agency Roscosmos merely said he had been transferred to a different job.
His replacement, Fedyaev, has already spent some time on the ISS as part of Crew-6 in 2023.
Sophie Adenot, the second French woman to fly to space
Paris, France (AFP) Feb 13, 2026 -
When she was growing up, Sophie Adenot plastered her childhood bedroom with posters of rockets launching from Cape Canaveral.
On Friday, she blasted off from that very launchpad, fulfilling her childhood dream and becoming just the second French woman to fly to space.
Adenot is one of four astronauts now heading towards the International Space Station to replace a crew that was evacuated last month because of an unidentified medical issue.
For the next eight months, the 43-year-old helicopter test pilot will conduct scientific experiments on the football field-sized station 400 kilometres (250 miles) above Earth.
Adenot has been dreaming of this moment since 1996, when she watched on television as France's first woman astronaut Claudie Haignere blasted off towards the Mir space station.
"I was 14 years old and it was a revelation," Adenot recently told a press conference.
"At that moment, I told myself: one day, that will be me."
Haignere told AFP that Adenot is both her "heir" and a "pioneer" in her own right.
"Sophie is a born astronaut," Haignere added.
After two days of delays, Adenot, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway as well as Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Friday.
They are scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Saturday, where they will relieve a skeleton crew of three astronauts.
- Afghanistan rescue missions -
As a teenager growing up in central France, Adenot cut space photos out of magazines and stuck them above her desk.
They were a source of motivation when she was studying maths, "which seemed so far removed from the space adventure I dreamt of", Adenot recently told a podcast.
She would go on to study at prestigious universities including MIT, and work at European aerospace giant Airbus as a helicopter cockpit designer.
Adenot credits her grandfather, a mechanic in France's air force, for giving her a love of "taking things apart and fixing them".
As a helicopter pilot, she completed two tours in Afghanistan, specialising in search and rescue missions.
Adenot then became France's first woman helicopter test pilot in 2018.
"I love adventure, the unknown, facing improbable situations and seeing how we overcome them -- whether as a team or alone," she said.
But while logging 3,000 flight hours and 120 combat missions, Adenot never stopped dreaming of space.
She first applied to be a European Space Agency astronaut in 2008 when she was just 25 -- but was rejected.
However in 2022 she was selected out of 22,000 candidates, and embarked on three years of intense training to get ready for Friday's launch.
It has been a "tsunami" that has completely changed her life, the mother of a teenager has said.
Another member of the ESA's 2022 astronaut class, Belgium's Raphael Liegeois, told AFP he felt "raw emotion" watching Adenot lift off.
Given her military background, Adenot "keeps her cool in all circumstances", Liegeois said.
But she also has an artistic side, he added, pointing to a "beautiful" poem Adenot posted on Instagram this week.
"I hope she can use this sensitivity to share her experience of the flight," he said.
- Michelin-starred cuisine -
Adenot will be busy on board the orbiting scientific lab, participating in more than 200 experiments.
Research will include microgravity's effect on the human body, including measuring how her time in orbit impacts her memory.
She will also test a system that uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to allow astronauts to carry out their own medical ultrasounds.
But it will not be all work.
French chef Anne-Sophie Pic, who has 10 Michelin stars, has prepared a menu for Adenot that includes lobster bisque and foie gras.
Adenot will also enjoy some of this vacuum-packed haute-cuisine on her 44th birthday on July 5.
She has also recorded the sounds of birds singing, footsteps crunching on snow and flowing streams to remind her of life back on that blue planet she can see out of the window.
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