NASA astronaut Anil Menon has been officially named to the crew of Expedition 75, marking his first mission to space. Menon will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2026 aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He will be joined by Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, forming a three-member team tasked with conducting essential research and technological trials aboard the orbiting lab.
Their mission will span approximately eight months, focusing on critical scientific experiments that will help pave the way for future long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Indian and Ukrainian parents, Menon has a diverse academic and professional background. He studied neurobiology at Harvard, completed a master’s in mechanical engineering, and earned his medical degree at Stanford. He went on to specialize in emergency and aerospace medicine, completing residencies at Stanford and the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Before joining NASA, Menon served as SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, where he played a pivotal role in the historic Demo-2 mission, the company’s first crewed flight for NASA. At SpaceX, he was instrumental in creating the company’s medical infrastructure for human spaceflight.
In 2021, Menon was selected to join NASA’s 23rd astronaut class, graduating in 2024. Even during his astronaut training, he stayed connected to medicine and education, mentoring young doctors while practicing emergency medicine in Texas.
Menon’s wife, Anna Menon, is equally accomplished. A lead space operations engineer at SpaceX, she also serves as a mission director and is part of the Polaris Dawn mission, a private spaceflight designed to test commercial space technologies. A former NASA engineer, Anna is also a published children’s author with her book “Kisses from Space”.
Together, Anil and Anna Menon, who married in 2016 and have two children, symbolize the growing influence of space science families. Their combined expertise in space operations, medicine, and engineering offers a compelling narrative of shared purpose and passion for exploration.
With this upcoming mission, Anil Menon embarks on an exciting new chapter—one that blends personal achievement with humanity’s collective push toward the stars.
