Who is Anil Menon, the Indian-origin NASA astronaut of Malayali descent set to travel to space?

NASA astronaut Anil Menon attends a press conference ahead of the Soyuz MS-29 expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on July 13, 2026. | The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft is scheduled for lift-off from the Baikonur spaceport at 8:17 p.m. (IST) on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) and is expected to dock at the orbital laboratory after a little over three hours.Let’s take a closer look at Anil Menon's life and how this event marks a historic milestone for the Indian community.Anil Menon: The NASA astronaut making historyBorn in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, 49-year-old Dr. Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a Colonel in the US Space Force. He served on the front lines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom while in the U.S. Air Force and later volunteered with the Himalayan Rescue Association, providing care for climbers on Mount Everest.Dr. Menon studied neurobiology at Harvard University before completing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a medical degree at Stanford University. He later specialised in emergency medicine and aerospace medicine. He has also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support Polio vaccination initiatives.Dr. Menon began his career at NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014 and worked with astronauts living and working on the International Space Station. He 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 next month.Dr. Menon’s wife, Anna Wilhelm, is also an astronaut and 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.The first NASA astronaut of Malayali descentDr. Menon’s family roots trace back to Ottapalam in Kerala’s Palakkad district. His father, K. P. Shankaran Menon, is a native of Ottapalam, Palakkad. His great-grandfather is Sir Chetur Shankaran Nair, a famous lawyer and freedom fighter, who carved a niche of his own during the British Raj. . His mother, Elizabeth, is an immigrant from Ukraine to America.Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan on Saturday (July 11) congratulated Dr. Menon, on his journey to the International Space Station (ISS), describing it as a “truly historic milestone” for the State.He said Dr. Menon’s mission to conduct pioneering research on semiconductor crystals and medicines was a testament to human excellence.What will Anil Menon do as part of the mission?He is scheduled to travel to space aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as part of Expedition 74 . While on board the ISS, Dr. Menon 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.Dr. 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 c