The head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Jared Isaacman, visited the Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome for the first time in eight years, TASS reports. His visit is timed to coincide with the launch of the Soyuz MS-29 manned spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for July 14.
Upon his arrival on Monday, Isaacman met with Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov. Then a meeting of the State Commission for the 75th expedition to the ISS took place, at which the main and backup crews of the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft were approved.
The main crew included Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as well as NASA astronaut Anil Menon. The reserve included Konstantin Borisov, Dmitry Petelin and American astronaut Denise Burnham.
Menon, Dubrov and Kikina will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:47 a.m. US Eastern Time – 7:47 p.m. local time.
After approximately a three-hour flight using a two-orbit scheme, the Soyuz MS-29 should automatically dock with the Prichal module. The engagement is scheduled for 1:56 p.m. Eastern Time, a few hours after which the crew will open the hatches between the spacecraft and the orbital station.
Menon, Dubrov and Kikina will spend about eight months in the orbital complex as part of ISS Expeditions 74 and 75, after which they will return to Earth in April 2027. For Menon, this flight will be the first in his career, and for Dubrov and Kikina – the second, NASA notes.
A live broadcast of the launch and docking can be viewed on the NASA+ platform, on the Amazon Prime streaming service and on the agency’s YouTube channel.
Doctor and researcher: what Menon will do on the ISS
Anil Menon was born into a family of immigrants: his father is from India and his mother is from Ukraine. Menon was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 2021 and began training in January 2022. Previously, he was an aerospace medicine physician for SpaceX, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force, according to his biography on NASA's website.
While on the ISS, the astronaut will take part in research aimed at improving technologies for growing semiconductor crystals in space. In the future, such developments will help establish large-scale production of components for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence systems and modern medical devices.
In addition, Menon will conduct ultrasound examinations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence technologies. It is expected that such methods will reduce the dependence of crews on medical support from Earth during long space missions.
The astronaut will also take part in an experiment to develop ways to protect the health of future crews and test the technology of bioprinting vascular structures in microgravity conditions.
