Anil Menon reaches ISS on first mission aboard Soyuz MS-29

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 15, 2026 03:00 IST

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and two Russian cosmonauts reached the Space Station in the early hours of Wednesday, India time, after a little over three hours aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft. The trio were welcomed with hugs and handshakes after docking with the orbital laboratory.

The mission marks Menon’s first spaceflight, while it is the second flight for Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, according to NASA. The three are expected to spend about eight months on the space station and are scheduled to return to Earth in April 2027.

The Roscosmos spacecraft carrying Menon, Dubrov and Kikina lifted off from Baikonur at 8:17 pm IST on Tuesday as the space station flew over the cosmodrome. After an eight-minute climb to a preliminary orbit, Soyuz MS-29 began a nearly three-hour chase to the ISS and docked at the Prichal module at 11:52 pm IST.

The crew then began a series of checks in the spacecraft and the space station before the hatch was opened at about 2 am IST. The live video feed from the station was cut off just as the hatch was about to open because of a loss of signal from tracking and data relay satellites. The link was restored 12 minutes later when the satellites were back in range to relay signals.

Menon’s family members, including his astronaut wife Anna Wilhelm, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman were at the Baikonur cosmodrome for the launch. On the ISS, the trio joined 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.

According to NASA, Menon will “conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth”. While on board the ISS, he will carry out experiments on the physiological effects of long-duration spaceflight and study how microgravity affects blood flow, vein structure and blood composition in astronauts.

He will also help test technologies for producing intravenous fluids using the station’s potable water system. NASA said such capabilities could become critical during deep-space missions where medical supplies are limited. Menon will continue research on in-space production of semiconductor crystals for the large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence and improved medical devices. He will also carry out ultrasound investigations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could remove the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions.

Earlier, Yelena Remizova, head of Russia’s agency for international humanitarian cooperation Rossotrudnichestvo, told state-run TASS news agency that the rocket would carry drawings made by Indian schoolchildren. “These are the works of the winners of the ‘First Forever’ competition, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the flight of the first Earth astronaut, Yury Gagarin, and cooperation between Russia and India in the field of space exploration,” she said.

Born in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a US Space Force colonel. During his time with the US Air Force, he served on the frontlines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and also worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association, caring for climbers on Mount Everest. His father, K P Shankaran Menon, is from Ottapalam in Kerala’s Palakkad district, while his mother Elizabeth is an immigrant from Ukraine to America.

Menon, 49, also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support polio vaccination initiatives. He began his NASA career as a flight surgeon in 2014 and worked with astronauts living and working on the ISS. He joined SpaceX in 2018, where he started the company’s medical programme, helped prepare for its first human spaceflights and worked closely on the development of Starship, the super heavy rocket and spacecraft for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021 and joined the two-year training programme the following month. His wife Anna travelled to space in September 2024 as part of Polaris Dawn, a private crewed spaceflight operated by SpaceX, which lasted nearly five days.

Menon’s arrival on the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-29 marks the start of his first mission in space, alongside Dubrov and Kikina, after a launch from Baikonur and a three-hour journey to the station. Over the next eight months, he is set to carry out a range of research and technology work before the crew returns to Earth in April 2027.

With PTI Inputs

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