The crew will launch aboard the Ros cosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft and take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, spending approximately eight months aboard the ISS.
US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Anil Menon is set for his first mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and Expedition 75 crew member in June 2026, according to an official statement by NASA,
Menon’s crew members will include Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The crew will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft and take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, spending approximately eight months aboard the ISS.
Menon, who is of Indian and Ukranian origin was born in Minneapolis, USA in 1976, and has previously served as a flight surgeon at NASA and a medical director at Space. After completing an undergraduate in neurobiology from Harvard, and a medical degree and masters in mechanical engineering from Stanford university, he served in the military as part of the 173rd Fighter Wing and also completed a residency and thesis on medical kits for commercial space flights at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
In his impressive career, Menon became Spacex’s first in-flight surgeon and played a key role in establishing the company's medical infrastructure. He has also served as a crew surgeon for many of NASA’s expeditions.
He still practices emergency medicine at Memorial Hermann’s Texas Medical Center and teaches residents at the University of Texas’ residency program.
During this expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technological demonstrations which will help further space missions and benefit humanity’s understanding of space travel.
This article is written by Rishima Mosali, Intern from Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Pune
