They're off to space, and taking a Minnesota physicist with them. NASA astronaut and Minneapolis-native Dr. Anil Menon is embarking on his first mission to space.
Menon and two Russian cosmonauts, Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, officially blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kasakhstan on Tuesday.
The trio will orbit Earth twice before docking with the International Space Station.
The mission includes in-space production of semiconductor crystals needed for computers, artificial intelligence, and medical devices.
Menon will be a test subject helping researchers understand how blood flow is affected in space to protect future astronauts. He also will test bioprinting vascular constructs in microgravity to improve understanding of the aging process to advance therapeutic developments.
The mission is expected to last at least eight months.
Menon was selected by NASA to join the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, reportinh for duty in January 2022. Menon was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch its first humans to space during the Demo-2 mission and building a medical organization to support the human system during future missions. Prior, he served NASA as the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions on the International Space Station.
Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants. He is married to Anna Menon, and they have two children. Menon is a certified flight instructor and has logged over 1,000 hours as a pilot. He also does endurance races such as Ironman and Kokoro.
