Anil Menon ISS Mission July 14

United States — NASA astronaut Anil Menon, an Indian-origin emergency medicine physician and US Space Force colonel, is set to launch on his first mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 14, 2026. He will lift off aboard the Russia — Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from the Kazakhstan — Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, alongside Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The mission is expected to last about eight months, with Menon serving as an Expedition 74/75 crew member. During his stay, Menon will conduct a series of experiments studying the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body, including blood flow, vein structure, and blood composition under microgravity. He will also test technologies for producing intravenous fluids from the station's potable water system, refine in-space production of semiconductor crystals for advanced computing and medical devices, and perform ultrasound investigations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence to reduce dependence on Earth-based medical support. Additionally, he will test bioprinting vascular constructs in microgravity. Menon's background includes service with the US Air Force in Afghanistan, medical work on Nepal — Mount Everest, and a year in India supporting polio vaccination. He joined United States — NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, moved to SpaceX in 2018 to establish its medical program and contribute to Starship development, and was selected as a United States — NASA astronaut in December 2021. His wife, Anna Menon, flew on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission in 2024. The launch has drawn attention in India, particularly in India — Kerala, where Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan hailed it as a historic milestone.