NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early on Wednesday, India time, after a little over three hours aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft.

The trio were welcomed with hugs and handshakes after docking with the orbital laboratory. The mission marks Menon’s first journey into space, while it is the second spaceflight for Dubrov and Kikina. The crew is expected to spend about eight months aboard the ISS before returning to Earth in April 2027.

Soyuz MS-29 Completes Three-Hour Journey To ISS

The Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8.17 pm IST on Tuesday as the International Space Station passed overhead.

After an eight-minute ascent into a preliminary orbit, the spacecraft began a nearly three-hour journey to the ISS before docking with the Prichal module at 11.52 pm IST.

The crew then carried out a series of safety and systems checks before opening the hatch at around 2 am IST.

The live video broadcast from the station briefly went offline just before the hatch was opened because of a loss of signal from tracking and data relay satellites. The transmission resumed about 12 minutes later once communication links were restored.

Menon Joins Nine-Member Crew On Space Station

Menon’s family, including his astronaut wife Anna Wilhelm, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman were present at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to witness the launch.

On board the ISS, the new arrivals joined NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev.

According to NASA, Menon will conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations designed to advance human space exploration while producing benefits for life on Earth.

Research To Focus On Human Health And Space Technology

During his mission, Menon will study the physiological effects of long-duration spaceflight, including how microgravity influences blood flow, vein structure and blood composition.

He will also help test technologies that produce intravenous fluids using the space station’s potable water system, a capability NASA believes could prove essential during future deep-space missions where medical supplies are limited.

Menon will continue research into manufacturing semiconductor crystals in space for use in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and advanced medical devices.

He is also scheduled to conduct ultrasound investigations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence, with the aim of reducing the need for medical support from Earth during future space missions.

Indian Schoolchildren’s Drawings Travel To Space

Earlier, Yelena Remizova, head of Russia’s international humanitarian cooperation agency Rossotrudnichestvo, told state-run news agency TASS that the Soyuz rocket also carried drawings created by Indian schoolchildren.

She said the artwork came from winners of the “First Forever” competition, organised to mark the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight and celebrate cooperation between India and Russia in space exploration.

From Emergency Medicine To Space Exploration

Born in Minneapolis to Indian and Ukrainian immigrant parents, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a colonel in the US Space Force.

His father, K P Shankaran Menon, is from Ottapalam in Kerala’s Palakkad district, while his mother, Elizabeth, emigrated from Ukraine to the United States.

During his service with the US Air Force, Menon served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and later worked with the Himalayan Rescue Association, providing medical care to climbers on Mount Everest.

He also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, supporting polio vaccination initiatives.

Menon joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, supporting astronauts aboard the ISS before moving to SpaceX in 2018. There, he established the company’s medical programme, contributed to its first human spaceflights and worked on the development of the Starship spacecraft.

He was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021 and began astronaut training the following month. His wife, Anna Wilhelm, travelled to space in September 2024 as part of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn private mission.

Menon’s arrival aboard Soyuz MS-29 marks the beginning of his first space mission. Over the next eight months, he and his crewmates will carry out scientific research and technology demonstrations before returning to Earth in April 2027.

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