NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Reaches ISS

NASA astronaut Anil Menon reached the International Space Station (ISS) on 14 July 2026 with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The crew launched aboard Soyuz MS-29 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and completed an automatic docking with the Prichal module after a three-hour, two-orbit flight.

Mission Profile

Anil Menon is on his first space mission and serves as a flight engineer and the crew’s on-orbit medical officer. He is assigned to the International Space Station Expedition 74/75 crew and is expected to remain aboard the orbital complex for about eight months, with a return planned for April 2027.

International Space Station and Soyuz MS-29

The International Space Station is a low-Earth orbit laboratory operated through international cooperation among NASA, Roscosmos, ESA and other partners. Soyuz MS-29 is a crewed Russian spacecraft in the Soyuz programme, which has supported human spaceflight since the 1960s.

Scientific Work on Board

Menon’s mission includes research and technology demonstrations in microgravity. The planned work includes semiconductor crystal production, ultrasound procedures using augmented reality and artificial intelligence, and studies of blood flow in space.

Important Facts for Exams

• The International Space Station has been continuously inhabited since November 2000.
• The Prichal module is a Russian docking module attached to the ISS in 2021.
• Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world’s first and largest operational space launch facility.
• Expedition crews on the ISS usually include astronauts and cosmonauts from multiple space agencies.

Professional Background

Anil Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a U.S. Space Force Colonel. His medical background is relevant to his role as the station’s on-orbit medical officer.