Indian-Origin NASA Astronaut Set for First Space Mission

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon is set to make his first journey into space on July 14, launching aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where he will conduct research spanning artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductor manufacturing and space medicine.

Menon, a physician, U.S. Space Force colonel and member of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class, will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:47 a.m. EDT (7:47 p.m. local time) alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, NASA said.

The Soyuz spacecraft is expected to dock automatically with the ISS’s Prichal module about three hours after launch, joining the Expedition 74 crew before transitioning to Expedition 75. The trio is scheduled to remain aboard the orbiting laboratory until April 2027.

The mission marks Menon’s first spaceflight, while it will be the second long-duration mission for both Dubrov and Kikina.

Once aboard the station, Menon will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev.

During his stay, Menon will lead and participate in a series of scientific investigations designed to support future deep-space exploration while producing technologies with applications on Earth.

Among the key experiments is research into manufacturing semiconductor crystals in microgravity, which scientists believe could improve the production of components used in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence systems and advanced medical devices.

He will also test the use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality to perform ultrasound scans in orbit, technology that could enable astronauts on future missions to diagnose medical conditions without real-time assistance from doctors on Earth.

Other investigations include studying how prolonged exposure to microgravity alters blood circulation, an area of research aimed at protecting astronauts during extended missions to the Moon and Mars. Menon will also help evaluate bioprinting of vascular tissue in space to better understand aging and support the development of regenerative therapies.

Menon, 49, brings an unusually diverse background to the mission. An emergency medicine physician and aerospace medicine specialist, he previously served as a NASA flight surgeon before being selected as an astronaut in December 2021.

Born in Minneapolis to Indian and Ukrainian immigrant parents, Menon earned a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard University before completing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a medical degree at Stanford University.

His medical career has included disaster response following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2015 Nepal earthquake, treating climbers with the Himalayan Rescue Association on Mount Everest, and serving in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Before joining NASA’s astronaut corps, Menon helped establish SpaceX’s medical program as the company’s first flight surgeon, supporting several landmark commercial human spaceflight missions, including Demo-2 and Inspiration4.

He is married to Anna Menon, a SpaceX engineer and astronaut who flew on the private Polaris Dawn mission in 2024, making them one of the few astronaut couples in the United States.

NASA will broadcast the launch, docking and hatch-opening ceremonies live through NASA+, Amazon Prime and the agency’s YouTube channel.

The International Space Station has hosted continuous human habitation for more than 25 years, serving as a laboratory for research in biology, medicine, materials science and technology development. NASA says the work carried out aboard the station is helping lay the foundation for its Artemis lunar program and future crewed missions to Mars.

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