Kerala has long occupied a special place in India’s space journey as the birthplace of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Thumba. Now, the state has another remarkable reason to celebrate. Palakkad district can proudly claim an extraordinary connection with three astronauts representing NASA, SpaceX and India’s ambitious Gaganyaan programme, a rare distinction that has captured the imagination of Malayalees around the world.
The spotlight is firmly on NASA astronaut Dr Anil Menon, who has embarked on his first space mission aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). His journey marks the beginning of an approximately eight-month expedition dedicated to scientific research and technology demonstrations in microgravity.
Joining Dr Menon in Palakkad’s unique space story are his wife, Anna Menon, a NASA astronaut candidate and former SpaceX engineer who flew on the landmark Polaris Dawn mission, and Air Commodore Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, one of the astronauts selected for India’s maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan. Together, the trio symbolises Kerala’s growing presence in global human spaceflight.
For Air Cmdre Prasanth, De Anil’s mission is deeply personal, reported NDTV. The two trained together in Houston and forged a close friendship. Ahead of the launch, Air Cmdre Prasanth shared an emotional message, describing Dr Anil and his wife Anna as “the complete astronaut family” and expressing pride in their enduring ties to India and Kerala. His tribute also reflected the camaraderie that increasingly defines the international astronaut community.
Although born in the United States to an Indian father and a Ukrainian mother, Dr Anil has maintained strong links with India. Before becoming an astronaut, he spent a year in New Delhi as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar supporting India’s polio eradication campaign, an experience that helped shape his career as both a physician and humanitarian.
Dr Anil brings an exceptional range of expertise to the ISS. A medical doctor, mechanical engineer, aerospace medicine specialist, military officer, pilot and researcher, he previously served as a NASA flight surgeon, supporting astronauts on multiple International Space Station missions before earning his own place among NASA’s astronaut corps.
During his stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, Dr Anil will participate in experiments examining how the human body adapts to space. His work will include studies on blood flow, vein structure and blood composition in microgravity, while also testing the production of intravenous fluids using the station’s potable water. He will additionally support medical demonstrations involving augmented reality and artificial intelligence, technologies expected to play vital roles in future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Ms Anna has already made history through SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024, reported India Today. Serving as the mission’s medical officer, she played a key role during the world’s first commercial spacewalk and helped demonstrate the growing capabilities of private human spaceflight.
She and fellow astronaut Sarah Gillis also became among the women who travelled farther from Earth than any before them. Today, Ms Anna is training as a NASA astronaut candidate, making the Menons one of the world’s rare astronaut couples.
Meanwhile, Air Cmdre Prasanth remains one of the leading faces of India’s Gaganyaan programme. His association with Dr Anil highlights the increasingly collaborative nature of global astronaut training, where personnel from NASA, ISRO, Roscosmos and commercial space companies frequently learn and prepare together for future missions.
