Indian-American NASA astronaut Anil Menon has officially arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), marking a historic milestone as the first NASA astronaut of Malayali descent to travel to space. Menon, along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, reached the orbiting laboratory aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft after a journey of just over three hours from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The trio will spend around eight months aboard the ISS, where they will carry out scientific experiments designed to advance human space exploration and improve technologies that could benefit life on Earth. From researching the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body to testing new medical and manufacturing technologies, Menon's mission is expected to contribute to future journeys to the Moon and Mars.
