Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon lifted off to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft at 08:17 PM, Indian Time, yesterday. This marks the beginning of his first spaceflight on an eight-month mission focused on scientific research and technology demonstrations.
The Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying Menon alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The spacecraft reached orbit shortly after launch and docked automatically with the ISS’s Prichal module following a two-orbit journey lasting about three hours.
NASA said the newly arrived crew will spend about eight months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in April 2027.
