Who is Indian-origin NASA cosmonaut Anil Menon, who docked at the ISS?

Hugs and handshakes welcomed them as NASA astronaut Anil Menon and two Russian cosmonauts reached the International Space Station in the early hours of Wednesday (India time) onboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft after a little over a three-hour journey.

Journey to ISS

The Roscosmos spacecraft carrying Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 8:17 pm IST on Tuesday (July 14) just as the orbital laboratory flew over the cosmodrome.

After an eight-minute climb to the preliminary orbit, the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft began a nearly three-hour chase to the International Space Station to dock at the Prichal module at 11:52 pm (IST).

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The astronauts then began a series of checks in the spacecraft and the space station before opening the hatch at about 2:00 am (IST).

"Proud to serve the United States Space Force and fly to the International Space Station today in support of NASA and our international partners!" Menon posted on X.

Incidentally, the live video feed from the space station was cut off at the time the hatch of the spacecraft was about to open due to loss of signal from the tracking and data relay satellites. The link was established 12 minutes later as the satellites were in range again to relay signals.

Who is Anil Menon?

According to NASA, this is Menon's first spaceflight and the second flight for the Russian cosmonauts.

Born in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a US Space Force colonel.

During his stint with the US Air Force, Menon, 49, served on the frontlines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and also worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association, caring for climbers on Mount Everest.

Menon's father, KP Shankaran Menon, hails from Ottapalam in Kerala's Palakkad district. His mother, Elizabeth, is an immigrant from Ukraine to America.

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Menon has also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support Polio vaccination initiatives.

Education and training

Menon has an enviable career spanning education in some of the reputed institutes in the US.

After completing schooling in Minnesota, Menon acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Neurobiology at Harvard University in 1999. At Harvard, he studied neurobiology and pursued research on Huntington’s disease. He spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support Polio vaccination.

He then enrolled for a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University in 2004. While pursuing a doctorate degree at Stanford Medical College, he worked on coding soft tissue models at the NASA Ames Research Centre in Silicon Valley. He was awarded a doctorate in 2006.

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During his residency training in emergency medicine at Stanford University, he joined the California Air National Guard and gained experience in wilderness medicine through support for remote adventure races like Racing The Planet.

Menon did a Residency in Aerospace Medicine at the University of Texas in 2013 and a Master’s in Public Health at UTMB-Galveston in 2012.

After his residency, he was deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom and worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association to care for mountaineers on Mount Everest.

NASA, SpaceX stints

Menon began his career at NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014 and worked with astronauts living and working on the ISS.

As a member of the Human Health and Performance Directorate, he also served as the medical lead for the health maintenance system and direct return aircraft development.

Menon joined SpaceX in 2018, where he started the company's medical programme, helped prepare for its first human space flights and worked closely in the development of Starship, the super heavy rocket and spacecraft for undertaking 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.

He is married to astronaut Anna Menon, and they have two children. Anna travelled to space in September 2024 as part of Polaris Dawn, a private crewed spaceflight operated by SpaceX. The spaceflight lasted for nearly five days.

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Menon’s bio on NASA’s portal says he enjoys teaching general aviation as a certified flight instructor and has logged over 1,000 hours as a pilot. He is also fond of endurance races like Ironman and Kokoro and backpacking with his family.

What will his mission on ISS entail?

In a statement, NASA said 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 conduct a series of experiments to study the physiological toll of long-duration spaceflight and examine 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. Such capabilities could become critical during deep-space missions where medical supplies are limited.

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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.

He will also perform ultrasound investigations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions.

Return in April 2027

Menon's family members, including astronaut wife Anna, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, were at the Baikonur cosmodrome to see him off.

Menon and the Russian cosmonauts 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.

Menon, Dubrov and Kikina's mission will last about eight months, and they are scheduled to return to Earth in April 2027.

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Yelena Remizova, head of Russia's agency for international humanitarian cooperation Rossotrudnichestvo, earlier told state-run TASS news agency that the rocket will 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.