[3] She first served as a back-up crew member for the 1993 Mir Altaïr mission, in which her future husband Jean-Pierre Haigneré participated.

[2] While on the mission, Haigneré visited the Mir space station for 16 days, where she conducted comprehensive experiments in the fields of physiology and developmental biology, fluid physics and technology.

[8] During her spaceflight in 1996, Haigneré agreed to a request from Dominique Baudis, mayor of Toulouse, that she be the honorary patron of the Cité de l’espace scientific discovery centre.

In 2018, Haigneré agreed to chair the jury of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards, which is an annual pan-African student competition in which students write an essay or create a poster focusing on science and technology fields as a source of inspiration to unlock opportunities for Africa.

The essays and posters will then be judged by an international panel of industry experts, government and academic world members, based on accuracy, creativity, originality and innovation.

[15] Haigneré's acceptance of this assignment marked the first time a woman has served on the panel for the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards.

To recognize her outstanding involvement in the Franco-Russian space cooperation, she received the Russian Order of Friendship.