Kerala celebrates NASA astronaut Anil Menon’s historic journey to the ISS

Crew members NASA Astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina participate in a pre-launch ceremony for the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Tuesday. | Photo credit: Reuters

People in the state celebrated and felt proud as Kerala-based NASA astronaut Anil Menon flew to the ISS on Tuesday.

He is the great-grandson of former State Congress chief Sir C. Sankaran Nair.

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar congratulated Mr. Menon, whose roots go back to Ottapalam in Palakkad district.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Arlekar said he was lucky to visit Mr. Menon’s birthplace last year to pay tribute to his great-grandfather.

“My heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Anil Menon, the pride of Kerala, in his historic space odyssey. I was fortunate enough to visit his birthplace, the Chettur House in Ottappalam a year ago to pay my respects to Anil Menon’s great-grandfather, the late Sir C Sankaran Nair,” he said.

Mr. Menon launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft as part of Expedition 74.

Chief Minister VD Satheesan last Saturday congratulated Mr. Menon on his achievement, terming his trip to the ISS a “truly historic milestone” for the state.

Born in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, Mr. Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a colonel in the US Space Force. During his time in the US Air Force, he served on the front lines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and also worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association, caring for climbers on Mount Everest.

Mr. Menon is the son of KP Shankaran Menon and Elizabeth, an immigrant from Ukraine to the US

Mr. Menon, 49, also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support polio vaccination initiatives.

He began his career at NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, working with astronauts living and working on the International Space Station. Menon joined SpaceX in 2018, where he launched the company’s medical program, helped prepare its first space flights, and worked closely on the development of Starship, a super-heavy rocket and spacecraft for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

He was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021 and entered a two-year training program the following month.

Mr Menon’s wife Anna Wilhelm traveled to space in September 2024 as part of Polaris Dawn, a private manned space flight operated by SpaceX. The space flight lasted almost five days.

Published – 14 Jul 2026 23:39 IST