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NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Set for First ISS Mission
NASA astronaut Dr Anil Menon, of Kerala descent, begins his first mission to the International Space Station.
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“NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Set for First ISS Mission”
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14 Jul 2026
Thiruvananthapuram, July 14 (IANS) Kerala will have another moment of pride on Tuesday evening when NASA astronaut Dr Anil Menon, whose family traces its roots to Ottapalam in Palakkad district, blasts off to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft.
The launch is scheduled for 8.17 p.m. IST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of an eight-month mission that will conclude with the crew's return to Earth in April next year.
Dr Menon, the son of Shankaran Menon of Ottapalam and Elizabeth Samoylenko of Ukraine, has excelled in every field he has entered, as a physician, mechanical engineer, US Space Force flight surgeon and pilot before earning his place in NASA's astronaut corps.
