Published Jul 11, 2026 | 4:30 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 11, 2026 | 4:30 PM
NASA astronaut Dr Anil Menon has roots in Kerala.
Synopsis: A landmark moment awaits on 14 July as NASA astronaut Dr. Anil Menon, whose family traces its roots to Kerala, embarks on his maiden spaceflight aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 to the International Space Station, becoming the first astronaut of Malayali origin to travel to space. The mission also shines a light on Menon’s remarkable journey from physician and flight surgeon to astronaut, and the cutting-edge scientific research he will carry out during his eight-month stay in orbit.
History is set to be written on Tuesday, 14 July, when NASA astronaut Dr Anil Menon blasts off aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the first astronaut of Malayali origin to travel to space.
The 49-year-old physician, engineer, emergency medicine specialist and military officer will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.
The trio is expected to spend nearly eight months aboard the orbital laboratory as part of Expeditions 74 and 75 before returning to Earth in April 2027.
Though born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Menon traces his roots to Kerala.
His family has ancestral links to Palakkad and Ottapalam, making the mission a matter of immense pride for the state. He is also a descendant of Chettur Sankaran Nair, the eminent freedom fighter, jurist and the first Malayali to serve as president of the Indian National Congress.
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The Soyuz MS-29 has been scheduled for launch at 10.47 am EDT (7.47 pm, Baikonur time), after which the spacecraft will make a two-orbit, three-hour journey before docking automatically with the Prichal module of the ISS at 1:56 p.m. EDT.
Once the hatches open, Menon, Dubrov and Kikina will join the Expedition 74 crew already aboard the station.
Soyuz MS-29 prime crew members
The current crew includes 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.
The upcoming mission will be Menon’s first to space, while it will be the second spaceflight for both Dubrov and Kikina.
NASA selected Menon for its 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, and he reported for training in January 2022.
Following two years of intensive astronaut training, he received his first flight assignment to the ISS.
Long before becoming an astronaut, Menon had built an impressive career in aerospace medicine.
He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, supporting several long-duration ISS expeditions. He served as deputy crew surgeon for Soyuz 39 and Soyuz 43 missions before becoming the prime crew surgeon for Soyuz 52.
Working with NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate, he contributed to astronaut healthcare systems and the development of direct-return spacecraft. His work also took him to Star City, Russia, where he spent more than six months supporting astronaut operations at the country’s famed cosmonaut training centre.
Menon also became SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, playing a central role in preparing the company’s first crewed mission, Demo-2, while helping establish the medical systems required for future human spaceflight missions.
An actively practising emergency medicine physician, he has also served as a flight surgeon with the US Air Force and deployed twice with its Critical Care Air Transport Team, treating and transporting wounded service personnel.
NASA said Menon’s mission will focus on scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at improving future human spaceflight while delivering benefits on Earth.
Among the key experiments, he will help refine methods for manufacturing semiconductor crystals in microgravity, work that could support the large-scale production of components used in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and advanced medical devices.
He will also participate in studies using ultrasound guided by augmented reality and artificial intelligence, technologies that could one day reduce astronauts’ dependence on medical support from Earth during deep-space missions.
Anil Menon
As part of another investigation, Menon will serve as a test subject in research examining how blood circulation changes in space, providing data that could help protect astronauts on future long-duration missions.
He will additionally work on bioprinting vascular tissue structures in microgravity, research expected to deepen understanding of ageing and contribute to future therapeutic developments.
Menon’s academic journey reflects the interdisciplinary path that eventually led him into space exploration.
At Harvard University, he studied neurobiology and conducted research on Huntington’s disease. He later attended Stanford University School of Medicine, where he combined engineering with medicine while working on soft-tissue modelling projects at NASA Ames Research Center in California.
During his emergency medicine residency, he joined the California Air National Guard and developed expertise in wilderness medicine. His Master’s thesis focused on medical kits designed for commercial spaceflight, and over the years he has authored more than 20 scientific papers covering emergency medicine and space medicine.
Menon was born to an Indian father and Ukrainian mother and was raised in the United States.
He is married to fellow SpaceX engineer Anna Menon, and the couple have two children.
His maiden mission also places another Kerala connection in the spotlight.
Group Captain Prasanth B. Nair, one of the four astronauts selected for ISRO’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, is widely expected to become the next person with Kerala roots to undertake a journey into space when India’s first crewed mission lifts off.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
