Watch- From Palakkad to ISS, Indian-origin astronaut Dr Anil Menon launched for an 8-month-long space expedition

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Dr Anil Menon embarked on an eight-month-long space expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday at 08:17 PM (IST) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.

Marking a proud moment for his ancestral district of Palakkad in the Southern Indian state of Kerala, and advancing research crucial for future deep-space exploration.

Menon, a physician with roots in Ottapalam, went on his expedition aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft. The crew is expected to return to Earth in April next year.

Dr Menon is a specialist in emergency and aerospace medicine. He will serve both as a researcher and a test subject during the long-duration flight.

His work will focus on the medical challenges of extended space travel, generating insights that will help prepare humans for missions beyond low Earth orbit.

This will mark the second spaceflight for both cosmonauts Anna Kikina and Oleg Dubrov. Dubrov previously spent nearly a year on the International Space Station from 2021 to 2022, while Kikina flew aboard SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission in 2022, becoming the first Russian cosmonaut to launch on a private American spacecraft.

The Soyuz MS-29 mission continues the longstanding NASA–Roscosmos partnership, under which the two agencies exchange seats on each other’s spacecraft. These seat-swap agreements ensure continuous crewed operations aboard the International Space Station.

During his approximately eight-month stay aboard the ISS, Menon will take part in multiple scientific investigations. According to NASA, he will contribute to research focused on improving the production of semiconductor crystals in microgravity, a technology that could advance high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and next-generation medical devices.

He will also conduct experiments using ultrasound imaging enhanced by augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI). The goal is to enable astronauts to perform more effective medical diagnostics independently, reducing their reliance on real-time support from Earth during future deep-space missions.

Anil Menon, son of Shankaran Menon of Ottapalam and Elizabeth Samoilenko of Ukraine, Dr Menon has built an impressive career as a mechanical engineer, US Space Force flight surgeon, pilot, and NASA astronaut.

Hours before liftoff, he shared his excitement on Instagram, thanking NASA, his family, and friends for their support.

For Palakkad, Menon’s journey adds another shining chapter to the district’s rich legacy of producing outstanding achievers. The region has given India and the world iconic figures such as actor-politician MG Ramachandran, diplomat and author Shashi Tharoor, whose family traces roots here, Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, and Air Commodore and astronaut Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, an ISRO ‘Gaganyatri’.

With Dr Anil Menon now orbiting Earth, Palakkad’s tradition of excellence has literally reached for the stars.