Anil Menon Assigned to First Space Station Mission, NASA Announces
On July 2, NASA officially announced that astronaut Anil Menon will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The announcement was made via an official press release.
Menon will serve as a Flight Engineer and a crew member of Expedition 75. He is scheduled to launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft in June 2026.
8 Months in Orbit Laboratory
According to NASA, Menon will be joined by Roscosmos astronauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. They will launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and are expected to spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Shubhanshu Shukla’s Research on the ISS
Meanwhile, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, currently on the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 mission, has been conducting experiments related to:
- Muscle cell behavior in microgravity
- Digestive health in space
- Astronauts’ mental well-being
His work may contribute to identifying the causes behind muscle atrophy and aid in developing treatments for elderly individuals suffering from muscular diseases on Earth. It could also help improve astronaut health during long-duration space flights.
Why Muscles Weaken in Space
It’s worth noting that astronauts tend to lose the ability to regenerate muscle cells in space. Due to lack of gravity, the body experiences no mechanical load, which leads to muscle degradation and weakness over time.