Dr Anil Menon, who will soon join the International Space Station, is set to be the first person with Keralite roots to travel to space.
From left to right: Nasa astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, Soyuz MS-29 prime crew members, pose for a portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. Photos by Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center via Nasa website
The Nasa astronaut will lift off aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, where they will join the Expedition 74 crew.
Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan dubbed it a "a truly historic milestone for Keralam."
Who is Dr Anil Menon?
Born to Ukrainian and Indian parents, he was raised in Minnesota, the Nasa website stated. Anil Menon traces his roots back to Kerala's Ottapalam, according to Kerala CM VD Satheesan.
Married to Anna Menon with two kids, he also enjoys endurance races such as Ironman and Kokoro and backpacking with his family.
Selected by Nasa to join the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, he began duty in January 2022. However, he had already started as a Nasa flight surgeon in 2014.
While this maybe his first time as the face of a mission, Menon has done crucial behind-the-scenes work in the past that contributed to keeping mankind in space. As SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, Menon both helped to launch its first humans to space, and built a medical organisation to support the human system during future missions.
He has also been the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions on the International Space Station. Menon previously supported the US Air Force as a flight surgeon and logged over 100 sorties in the F-15 and transported over 100 patients as part of the critical care air transport team, according to the Nasa website.
Menon will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station in July 2026, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 75 crew member accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.
What is Menon's mission as part of Expedition 74?
On July 14, around 6.47pm UAE time, Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina will set off to join the Expedition 74 crew. The astronauts will spend around eight months aboard the International Space Station, and return to Earth in April 2027. While it will be Menon’s first spaceflight, it is the second for both Dubrov and Kikina. The launch will be covered on Nasa+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
After a two-orbit, three-hour trip to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at 9.56pm (UAE time) to the Prichal module. Shortly afterward, hatches will open between the Soyuz and the orbiting laboratory.
Once aboard, the trio will join Nasa astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyaev.
Menon will "continue research to refine in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable the large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices," Nasa said.
He will also perform ultrasound using AR and AI methods, which could eliminate the need for medical assistance from Earth during future space missions. Other than research, Menon will himself become a test subject, helping researchers understand blood flow in space, and the ageing process.
ALSO READ:
- Meet the four astronauts set to embark on Artemis 2 Moon mission
- UAE eyes long-term space missions as it builds next-gen astronauts
- Nasa astronauts splash down on Earth after first-ever medical evacuation from ISS
Poojaraj Maniyeri
Poojaraj Maniyeri is a Digital Journalist who loves turning everyday conversations into news stories...