NASA astronaut Anil Menon and two Russian astronauts blasted off Tuesday aboard a Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from Kazakhstan on an eight-month mission to the International Space Station.
The Roscosmos spacecraft carrying Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:17 pm IST.
After a two-orbit, three-hour journey to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at 11:56 pm IST with the Brishal module.
This is Menon’s first space flight and the second flight for Russian astronauts, according to NASA.
Menon’s family members, including astronaut wife Anna Wilhelm, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, were at the Baikonur cosmodrome for the space flight.
Once on board, the trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, ESA astronaut Sophie Adeno, and Roscosmos astronauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyev.
The mission of Menon, Dubroff and Kikina will last about eight months, and they are scheduled to return to Earth in April 2027.
According to NASA, Menon “will conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth.”
Yelena Remezova, head of the Russian agency for international humanitarian cooperation Rossotrudnichestvo, previously told the state-run TASS news agency that the missile would carry with it drawings made by Indian school children.
She said: “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, Yuri Gagarin, and cooperation between Russia and India in the field of space exploration.”
Born in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and colonel in the US Space Forces.
During his time with the USAF, he served on the front lines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and also worked for the Himalayan Rescue Society, where he cared for climbers of Mount Everest.
Menon’s father, KP Shankaran Menon, hails from Ottapalam in Palakkad district of Kerala. His mother, Elizabeth, is an immigrant from Ukraine to America.
Menon, 49, also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassador Scholar studying and supporting polio vaccination initiatives.
He began his career at NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014 and worked with astronauts living and working on the International Space Station.
Menon joined SpaceX in 2018, where he started the company’s medical program, 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 program the following month.
Menon’s wife Anna will travel to space in September 2024 as part of Polaris Dawn, a private crewed space flight operated by SpaceX. The space flight lasted about five days.
While aboard the International Space Station, Menon will conduct a series of experiments to study the physiological impact of long-duration spaceflight and study how microgravity affects blood flow, vein structure and blood composition in astronauts.
It will also help test techniques for producing intravenous fluids using the station’s potable water system. These capabilities could become crucial during deep space missions where medical supplies are limited.
Menon will continue research to improve the production of semiconductor crystals in space to enable large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices.
It 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.
