Thiruvananthapuram:
As a NASA astronaut of Indian origin, Dr Anil Menon, prepares to blast off to the International Space Station on July 15 aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, a remarkable story is unfolding in Kerala. A single district in God’s Own Country, Palakkad, can now proudly claim a connection to three astronauts.
One among them is Anna Menon, the pioneering private astronaut who flew on the historic Polaris Dawn mission. Another is Dr Anil Menon, now set to begin his first journey into space. And the third is Air Commodore Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, one of India’s Gaganyaan astronaut-designates who was originally part of preparations for the Axiom-4 mission and remains among India’s most recognised future astronauts.
For Kerala, and particularly for Palakkad district, it is an extraordinary contribution to human spaceflight. Malayalees are celebrating it to no end and also highlight that ISRO was also born in the fishing village of Thumba in Kerala.
For Air Commodore Prasanth Nair, the significance of Anil Menon’s mission is both personal and emotional.
The two trained together and developed a close friendship during their time in Houston.
In a heartfelt message shared with NDTV ahead of the launch, Nair wrote: “Dear brother Anil and Dearest Anna … It is indeed such an emotional moment for me and my wife Lenaa to witness this historical moment. Your ties to this great land of Bharat and to Kerala will always be fondly remembered by all of us who are cheering for you from here. We were both fortunate to spend quality time with you both during our time in Houston last year. With this launch, you and your astronaut wife Anna are truly the complete astronaut family.”
Astronauts designate Anil Menon and Prasanth B Nair in the USA.
Photo Credit: Prashant B Nair
The message captures not only friendship but also the growing bond among a new generation of astronauts connected by training, exploration and a shared passion for space.
For Indians, Nair’s tribute carries special resonance because he himself represents India’s future human spaceflight ambitions through the Gaganyaan programme.
Menon was born to an Indian father and a Ukrainian mother and was raised in the United States. That brief confirmation reveals how deeply Anil Menon’s roots run in India, despite being born and raised in the United States.
His ties to India are not merely ancestral. Before becoming an astronaut, Menon spent time in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar supporting polio vaccination efforts. According to NASA, he spent a year in India studying and supporting India’s polio eradication campaign, one of the world’s greatest public health achievements. During that period, he was based in New Delhi and worked on health-related initiatives that would later shape his career as a physician and humanitarian, he told NDTV World.
Today, he stands on the threshold of space.
Menon is not a typical astronaut. He is a medical doctor, mechanical engineer, aerospace medicine specialist, flight surgeon, military officer, pilot and researcher rolled into one. NASA describes him as an emergency medicine physician, a colonel in the United States Space Force and a former NASA flight surgeon who supported crews aboard the International Space Station long before becoming an astronaut himself.
On July 14, Menon will launch from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina aboard Soyuz MS-29. The spacecraft will carry the trio to the International Space Station, where they are expected to spend about eight months conducting scientific research and technology demonstrations before returning to Earth in 2027.
Actor Lena Kumar (wife of Prashant), Anil Menon, Anna Menon and Prasanth B Nair in the USA.
Photo Credit: Prasanth B Nair
This will be Menon’s first flight into space.
The mission is particularly significant because Menon has already spent years caring for astronauts from the ground. NASA notes that he supported multiple International Space Station crews as a flight surgeon and even lived and worked in Russia’s Star City for more than six months.
Now, after helping others reach orbit, he will finally experience it himself.
During his expedition, Menon will participate in critical experiments to understand how the human body adapts to space. Researchers will study blood flow, vein structure and blood composition in microgravity. He will also help test the production of intravenous fluids using the station’s potable water, an innovation that could prove vital for future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
NASA says he will also take part in advanced medical and technology demonstrations, including ultrasound procedures that use augmented reality and artificial intelligence to support astronauts during future deep space missions.
Yet perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of the story is that Anil Menon is part of a truly unique spacefaring family.
His wife Anna Menon is already a celebrated astronaut in her own right.
Anna Menon first gained international attention through SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024. Before joining NASA’s Astronaut Group in 2025, she served as a lead space operations engineer and mission director at SpaceX.
Polaris Dawn became one of the most ambitious private human spaceflight missions ever flown. Led by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who now serves as NASA Administrator, the mission pushed private space exploration into new territory. Anna Menon served as the mission’s medical officer and played a central role in various on-board activities.
The mission made history by conducting the world’s first commercial spacewalk, opening an entirely new chapter in private spaceflight.
Anna Menon and fellow astronaut Sarah Gillis also set records as part of the women who travelled farther from Earth than any women had previously gone. Her role demonstrated that commercial missions were capable of undertaking complex operations once reserved exclusively for national space agencies.
Today Anna Menon is training as a NASA astronaut candidate while her husband prepares for his first orbital mission. Together, they represent one of the world’s rare astronaut couples.
NASA notes that the couple have two children. The Menon family therefore occupies a special place in spaceflight history. Their children are growing up in a household where both parents have worn the title of astronaut.
The connection between Nair and Menon also highlights the increasingly global nature of astronaut training and cooperation. Whether flying for NASA, Roscosmos, SpaceX, ISRO or under future Indian missions, astronauts today often train together, learn together and form lifelong friendships.
Meanwhile, Kerala has ample reason to celebrate.
Palakkad district can now look with pride at a remarkable trio.
Anna Menon helped pioneer the modern era of private astronaut missions and took part in activities linked to the first commercial spacewalk.
Anil Menon is preparing to fly to the International Space Station as a NASA astronaut, physician and researcher.
Prasanth Nair remains among the most prominent faces of India’s human spaceflight future.
Few regions anywhere in the world outside the USA and Russia can claim such a concentration of astronaut talent and achievement.
As the Soyuz countdown begins at Baikonur, excitement stretches from Houston to Star City to Palakkad in Kerala.
At one end stands a NASA astronaut preparing for his first journey beyond Earth.
At the other end, family, friends and admirers wait with pride.
