US astronaut Anil Menon docks at International Space Station for 8-month scientific expedition

American astronaut Anil Menon on Tuesday arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.

Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina travelled to the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in a journey lasting about three hours.

For the next two weeks, the ISS will have 10 crew members on board: four Americans, one European, and five Russians. This is Menon's first spaceflight.

Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman shared a video of Menon with his crewmates aboard the ISS.

"Your mission is just getting started. Wishing you and your crewmates a successful expedition as you advance research and inspire millions back here on Earth," Isaacman said in a post on X.

The United States and Russia have had a 'seat exchange' agreement since the 1990s, under which astronauts from the two countries use each other's spacecraft to travel to the International Space Station. The ISS was built jointly by the United States, Russia, and a dozen other countries, and continues to operate as a multinational venture. While Menon has now hitched a ride aboard a Russian spacecraft, Kikina flew to the ISS aboard a SpaceX spacecraft in 2022.

More from World

The US-Russia seat exchange agreement for astronauts has survived tensions arising from Russia's invasions of Ukraine and its shadow war against Europe. But the future of bilateral and multilateral collaboration remains uncertain, as the ISS is set to be retired by 2031 and countries are developing their own space stations.

Menon to conduct science for 8 months

Over the next eight months, Menon will conduct scientific experiments aboard the ISS aimed at advancing space exploration by improving understanding of how technologies, including medical devices, function in space.

Menon is a physician and a US Space Force colonel. He became a Nasa flight surgeon in 2014 and was selected as an astronaut in 2021.

Nasa said in a statement that Menon will continue research to refine the in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable the large-scale manufacture of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence (AI), and improved medical devices.

Menon will also perform ultrasound procedures using augmented reality (AR) and AI techniques that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions. He will also test bioprinting vascular constructs in microgravity to improve understanding of the ageing process and advance therapeutic developments.

In addition to conducting experiments, Menon himself will be part of one. He is serving as a test subject in a study designed to help researchers understand how blood flow is affected in space. The aim is to identify ways to protect future astronauts.

Nasa astronaut Anil Menon gestures during a press conference ahead of the Soyuz MS-29 expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 13, 2026. (Photo: Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)