Indian-American astronaut Anil Menon successfully launched aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. She is the second Indian-origin astronaut to go into space after Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams and Raja Chari. He began his historic journey on Tuesday aboard the Russian Suez MS-29 spacecraft from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. Anil, a NASA astronaut, doctor and engineer, will serve as a crew member and flight engineer on Russian space agency Roscosmos’ Expedition-7.
For 48-year-old Anil Menon, this is the first space flight of his life. He is accompanied by two other Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. However, this is the second space mission of two Russian cosmonauts. The three astronauts will stay aboard the International Space Station for about eight months where they will be engaged in a number of important research activities.
Anil Menon was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Anil received his primary education at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in Minnesota and graduated in 1995. She then received her bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard University in 1999 and her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in Anil also received her medical degree from Stanford Medical School in 2009 and was ordained a deaconess in 2010.
Anil Menon, a longtime US Air Force veteran, joined NASA in 2014 as a flight engineer. During his distinguished career, he also served as Deputy Crew Surgeon on the Soyuz TMA-13M and Soyuz TMA-17M missions and as Primary Crew Surgeon on Soyuz MS-6. Menon, who has flown more than 1,000 hours in the sky, has now attracted a lot of attention across the world as well as among Indians.
Anil and his colleagues, who are currently on their way to the International Space Station, will spend eight months in space to complete their research. The mission is expected to add new scientific information and discoveries to the field of space science.