Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon arrives at ISS for eight-month research mission

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon reached the International Space Station on Wednesday, beginning an eight-month science and technology mission after launching aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft.

Menon, with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, docked at the ISS Prichal module at 1:52 p.m. EDT following a three-hour, two-orbit flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The trio lifted off at 10:47 a.m. EDT (7:47 p.m. local time). Their arrival raises the station’s crew complement to 10 for roughly two weeks.

In messages before launch, Menon thanked colleagues, family and the NASA community and said he was “proud to serve the United States Space Force” as he headed to the orbital laboratory.

After hatches opened, Expedition 74 members — NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams; ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev — welcomed the new arrivals.

NASA said Menon, making his first spaceflight, and his two Russian crewmates will remain on the station until April 2027. Dubrov and Kikina are on their second missions.

While aboard, Menon will perform experiments and demonstrations designed to support long-duration human spaceflight and terrestrial applications. Planned work includes improving in-orbit production of semiconductor crystals for advanced computing and medical devices; testing ultrasound procedures that use augmented reality and artificial intelligence to reduce reliance on ground-based medical support; acting as a subject in studies of blood-flow changes in microgravity; and evaluating bioprinted vascular constructs to inform ageing and therapeutic research.

Expedition 75 is scheduled to begin July 26 after Williams, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev depart; a change-of-command ceremony is set for July 25 when command transfers from Kud-Sverchkov to Meir.

The American Board of Emergency Medicine, which lists Menon as a board-certified emergency physician, congratulated him on a successful launch and wished the crew a safe mission. The ISS has maintained an uninterrupted human presence for more than 25 years and continues to host research supporting medicine, engineering, biology and materials science while preparing for future Moon and Mars exploration.

(Inputs from IANS)