Dr. Anil Menon is preparing to join the International Space Station and will become the first person with roots in Kerala to travel into space.
Dr. Anil Menon is preparing to join the International Space Station and will become the first person with roots in Kerala to travel into space.
The NASA astronaut will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina to join Expedition 74 crew. The Minister of Kerala, V.D. Satheesan, called this a 'truly historic achievement for Kerala.' The entire Malayali community expresses collective wishes for a safe and successful mission.
According to the NASA website, Dr. Anil Menon was born to Ukrainian and Indian parents and grew up in Minnesota. Menon himself states that his roots trace back to Ottapalam in Kerala, as reported by the Kerala Minister V.D. Satheesan. He is married to Anna Menon, and they have two children. Additionally, he enjoys long-distance races such as Ironman and Kokoro, as well as hiking with his family.
Menon was selected by NASA into the astronaut candidate class in 2021 and began his work in January 2022. However, he has been working as a NASA flight surgeon since 2014. Although this may be his first flight as a mission representative, Menon has previously performed vital behind-the-scenes work contributing to humanity's presence in space. As the first flight surgeon at SpaceX, he helped launch the first people into space and created a medical organization to support the human system during future missions.
Furthermore, he served as a flight surgeon on various International Space Station expeditions. According to the NASA website, Menon previously worked as a flight surgeon in the US Air Force, completing over 100 flights in an F-15 aircraft and transporting more than 100 patients as part of a critical medical evacuation team.
Menon plans to make his first flight to the International Space Station in July 2026 as a flight engineer and member of Expedition 75, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. On July 14, around 18:47 UAE time, Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina will head to Expedition 74 crew. The astronauts will spend about eight months aboard the International Space Station before returning to Earth in April 2027. Although this will be Menon's first spaceflight, it will be the second for Dubrov and Kikina. The launch will be broadcast on Nasa+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
After a three-hour two-orbit flight to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock with the Docking module at 21:56 UAE time. Shortly after, the hatches between the Soyuz and the orbital laboratory will open. Upon boarding, the trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hetherington, and Chris Williams, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mihayev, and Andrey Fedyaev.
NASA announced that Menon will 'continue research to improve the production of semiconductor crystals in space to enable large-scale production of components necessary for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and advanced medical devices.' He will also conduct ultrasound examinations using augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods, which could potentially eliminate the need for medical care from Earth during future space missions. In addition to research, Menon himself will be an object of testing, helping researchers study blood flow in space and the aging process.
The Indo-American NASA astronaut Anil Menon, aged 49, is preparing for his first eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which launches on Tuesday.
Menon is an emergency physician and a US Air Force Colonel. His Indian heritage stems from his father, who emigrated from India. During this mission, he will conduct important research on the physiological effects of prolonged microgravity and test new medical technologies for future spaceflights.
Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in families of Ukrainian and Indian immigrants. He is married to Anne Wilhelm Menon, and they have two children. Anne is also an astronaut and flew into space in September 2024 as part of the private crewed flight Polaris Dawn, organized by SpaceX, lasting nearly five days.
After graduating from Harvard, Menon spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, supporting polio immunization programs. While in India, he lived in the Greater Kailash area of Delhi and visited remote villages to assist with vaccination.
Menon often expressed pride in his Indian heritage, noting that the country's space aspirations inspire him. Serving in the US Air Force, he participated in frontline operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and worked with the Himalayan Rescue Association, assisting climbers on Mount Everest. He has accumulated over 1000 flight hours and teaches general aviation as a certified flight instructor.
He began his career at NASA in 2014 as a field surgeon, working with astronauts living and working on the ISS. In 2018, he joined SpaceX, where he founded the company's medical program, helped prepare for the first crewed flights, and actively participated in the development of Starship, the super-heavy rocket and spacecraft for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Menon was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021 and began two years of training the following month.
