Day 203 orbit 3146 — Floating upside down (from your point of view!), eyes closed, listening to a guided relaxation session... 😌 Staying at your best in space isn't just about good hygiene, plenty of exercise and precise nutrition. Life in orbit is demanding, with busy schedules, occasional disrupted sleep and the challenges of microgravity, and for decades, astronauts have developed their own relaxation and meditation routines. As part of the European RelaxPro study, we’re now officially testing techniques designed to help astronauts manage stress and improve sleep. By combining our feedback with physiological measurements, including saliva and hair samples, researchers hope to better understand how simple practices can support astronaut’s health and well-being on future long-duration missions. In space as on Earth, staying at your best is sometimes also knowing when to slow down and breathe! 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson

Day 161, orbit 2497 — Cooking in space is sooooo joyful! 😄 It’s funny how little things, like gathering a mixing bowl and cooking supplies, can unlock all kind of memories – familiar gestures, smells and flavours. On Earth I sometimes wish I didn’t have to cook, but after months of ready-made meals (no matter how nutritious and tasty they are), the act of preparing a meal is a huge joyful experience! In 2023, during his Huginn mission, Andy was the first astronaut to use this culinary robot to prepare a chocolate mousse, which is quite challenging because of its airy texture. Food processor is a technology demonstrator: the goal is to show that preparing meals in microgravity is feasible, first using ingredients produced on Earth, and one day, with vegetables grown in space. Congratulations to the French teams 🇫🇷 who did a fantastic job! Even before I started mixing the ingredients, the smell was tantalizing… The recipe, a Mediterranean Duo consisting of eggplant puree and hummus, tastes like a home-cooked meal made with fresh ingredients and aromatic herbs. It’s funny because whenever French gastronomy is on the menu, nobody’s late at the dinner table and everyone’s 150% delighted! 😋 After four months in space, it’s clear to me that France has unique expertise in preparing meals that are both delicious and nutritious for space exploration. I hope the current partners will continue to showcase French gastronomy, and why not, take the lead in this area! 📸 @esa / @NASA 👏 & 🙏: @CNES • @Medes_IMPS • @COMATSPACE • @JeanHenaffSA • Inneolab • Olga (Triballat Noyal) • @compositic • Innovons à 360 • Andros • #εpsilon

Jour 149, orbite 2306 – La science du dimanche matin avec Sophie, épisode 12 : les odeurs dans l’espace, partie 1 ! Je vous embarque pour un autre tour thématique de la Station, mais cette fois-ci, vous devrez faire appel à votre imagination et à votre mémoire olfactive pour profiter à 100% de l’expérience ! 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @esa_fr • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson • @cnes