NASA astronaut Anil Menon and two Russian cosmonauts lifted off aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from Kazakhstan on Tuesday for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Roscosmos spacecraft carrying Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:17pm IST.
After a two-orbit, three-hour journey, the spacecraft is scheduled to dock automatically with the ISS's Prichal module at 11:56pm IST.
The mission marks the first spaceflight for Indian-origin Menon and the second for both Russian cosmonauts, according to NASA. Menon's family, including his wife, astronaut Anna Wilhelm, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, were at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the launch.
Once aboard the ISS, the trio will join 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.
Menon, Dubrov and Kikina are expected to spend about eight months aboard the station before returning to Earth in April 2027.
According to NASA, Menon will "conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth."
Earlier, Yelena Remizova, head of Russia's agency for international humanitarian cooperation Rossotrudnichestvo, told the state-run TASS news agency that the spacecraft would carry drawings made by Indian schoolchildren.
"These are the works of the winners of the 'First Forever' competition, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the flight of the first Earth astronaut, Yury Gagarin, and cooperation between Russia and India in the field of space exploration," she said.
Born in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrant parents, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a colonel in the US Space Force.
During his service with the US Air Force, he was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also worked with the Himalayan Rescue Association, providing medical care to climbers on Mount Everest.
His father, KP Shankaran Menon, is from Ottapalam in Kerala's Palakkad district, while his mother, Elizabeth, emigrated from Ukraine to the United States.
Menon, 49, also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, supporting polio vaccination initiatives. He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, working with astronauts living and working aboard the ISS.
In 2018, he joined SpaceX, where he established the company's medical programme, helped prepare for its first human spaceflights, and contributed to the development of Starship, the company's heavy-lift rocket and spacecraft designed for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Menon was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021 and began the agency's two-year astronaut training programme the following month. His wife, Anna Wilhelm, travelled to space in September 2024 as part of Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX mission that lasted nearly five days.
During his stay aboard the ISS, Menon will conduct experiments examining the physiological effects of long-duration spaceflight, including how microgravity affects blood flow, vein structure and blood composition.
He will also help test technology to produce intravenous fluids using the station's potable water system, a capability that could prove critical during future deep-space missions where medical supplies are limited.
His research will also focus on improving the in-space production of semiconductor crystals for use in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and medical devices.
In addition, Menon will carry out ultrasound investigations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence, technologies that could reduce the need for medical support from Earth during future long-duration missions.
(With inputs from PTI)
