Indian-American Astronaut Anil Menon Heads To The ISS On Tuesday: From Everest Rescues To An 8-Month Space Mission

Anil Menon, a 49-year-old NASA astronaut whose father emigrated from India, is set to launch on his first mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday. He will travel aboard Russia’s Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for an eight-month stay, during which he will study the physiological effects of long-duration microgravity and test new medical technologies for future missions.

Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a US Space Force Colonel, born and raised in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrant parents. He has spoken often about his pride in his Indian heritage, saying the country’s growing space ambitions inspire him.

His connection to India runs deeper than heritage alone. After graduating from Harvard, Menon spent a year in the country as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, living in Delhi’s Greater Kailash while studying and supporting polio immunisation programmes, travelling to remote villages to help administer vaccines.

Before joining NASA, Menon served on the frontlines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and worked with the Himalayan Rescue Association caring for climbers on Mount Everest. He has logged more than 1,000 hours as a pilot and is a certified flight instructor. He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, moved to SpaceX in 2018 to help build its medical programme and support the development of Starship, and was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021.

Menon is married to fellow astronaut Anna Wilhelm Menon, who flew to space in September 2024 as part of SpaceX’s private Polaris Dawn mission. The couple have two children.