Thiruvananthapuram, July 13, 2026: Kerala’s Palakkad district is set to achieve a rare distinction as NASA astronaut of Indian origin Dr Anil Menon prepares to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on July 15.
With Menon’s mission, Palakkad will be linked to three astronauts—NASA astronaut Anna Menon, who flew on the historic Polaris Dawn mission; Dr Anil Menon; and Air Commodore Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, one of India’s Gaganyaan astronaut-designates.
Ahead of the launch, Air Commodore Nair, who trained alongside Menon in Houston, shared an emotional message describing the occasion as a historic moment and congratulating Anil and Anna Menon, highlighting their strong ties to India and Kerala.
Astronauts Anil Menon, Anna Menon and Prasanth B Nair in USA.
Born to an Indian father and a Ukrainian mother, Menon was raised in the United States but has maintained close links with India. Before joining NASA, he spent a year in New Delhi as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar supporting India’s polio eradication campaign.
A physician, mechanical engineer, aerospace medicine specialist, pilot and colonel in the United States Space Force, Menon previously served as a NASA flight surgeon, supporting ISS crews before being selected as an astronaut.
He will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina for an approximately eight-month mission aboard the ISS. The crew will conduct scientific research, medical studies and technology demonstrations, including experiments on the effects of microgravity on the human body and advanced healthcare technologies for future deep-space missions.
This will be Menon’s first journey into space.
His wife, Anna Menon, is also an astronaut and served as the medical officer on SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission in 2024, which included the world’s first commercial spacewalk. The couple, who have two children, are among the world’s few astronaut couples.
The mission has sparked celebrations in Kerala, with Palakkad taking pride in its association with three prominent figures in human spaceflight, while also recalling the state’s historic role as the birthplace of India’s space programme at Thumba.
