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Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon set for first ISS mission

Indian Express – India

2h ago

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon set for first ISS mission

Summary

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon is set to embark on his first mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 14, beginning an eight-month expedition focused on medical, technological, and spaceflight research. Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The three are scheduled to serve as members of Expedition 74/75 aboard the ISS before returning to Earth in April 2027. Born in Minneapolis to Indian and Ukrainian immigrant parents, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a colonel in the US Space Force. He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014, supporting astronauts living and working aboard the ISS. In 2018, he moved to SpaceX, where he established the company’s medical programme, helped prepare its first human spaceflight missions, and contributed to the development of Starship, the spacecraft designed for future missions to the Moon and Mars. Before joining NASA’s astronaut corps, Menon also served with the US Air Force in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and worked with the Himalayan Rescue Association, providing medical care to climbers on Mount Everest. NASA selected Menon as an astronaut in December 2021, after which he completed the agency’s two-year astronaut training programme. Menon also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, supporting polio vaccination initiatives. During his stay aboard the ISS, Menon will conduct experiments examining the physiological effects of long-duration spaceflight, including how microgravity alters blood flow, vein structure, and blood composition.

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Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon set for first ISS mission

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Former Qatar Emir Sheikh, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, dies at 74

Former Qatar Emir ⁠Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at the age of 74, the nation’s top ‌government body said on Sunday. Also Read: India-origin US lawmaker Ro Khanna detained by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit Though the state-run Qatar News Agency announced his death, there was no mention of the cause. The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international developments shaping global politics, policy, and migration trends. The desk focuses on stories with direct relevance for Indian and global audiences, combining breaking news with in-depth explainers and analysis. A major focus area of the desk is US immigration and visa policy, including developments related to student visas, work permits, permanent residency pathways, executive actions, and court rulings. The Global Desk also closely tracks Canada’s immigration, visa, and study policies, covering changes to study permits, post-study work options, permanent residence programmes, and regulatory updates affecting migrants and international students. All reporting from the Global Desk adheres to The Indian Express’ editorial standards, relying on official data, government notifications, court documents, and on-record sources. Core Team The Express Global Desk is led by a team of experienced journalists and editors with deep expertise in international affairs and migration policy: Aniruddha Dhar – Senior Assistant Editor with extensive experience in global affairs, international politics, and editorial leadership. Nischai Vats – Deputy Copy Editor specialising in US politics, US visa and immigration policy, and policy-driven international coverage. Mashkoora Khan – Sub-editor focusing on global developments, with a strong emphasis on Canada visa, immigration, and study-related policy coverage. ...

General U.S. News3h ago

US allies apprehensive after capricious Trump changes tune at Nato summit

Sudden shift may be linked to affinity for Erdoğan but what might be consequences of erratic behavior towards alliance? Donald Trump’s relationship with Washington’s Nato allies is nobody’s idea of a happy marriage. But the US president’s volatile performance at the western military alliance’s annual summit in Ankara this week seemed extreme, even by Trumpian standards. As commentators sought toexplain what happened, their usually capacious stock of Trump-fitting cliches was at risk of exhaustion. Trump arrived in the Turkish capital last Tuesday in a spectacular funk, visibly angry that the temporary ceasefire arrangement he had agreed with Iran had failed to hold, and threatening to unleash more destruction and mayhem in consequence. The country’s Islamic leadership, which he praised as “very reasonable” just two weeks earlier, were “scum” and “sick people”, he told journalists as he sat beside Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte. Just as vehemently, he lashed out at the alliance, which has been the cornerstone of collective western security policy since 1949, when it was founded as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in response to the spread of Soviet communism after the second world war. He has a tendency to see the world through not so much through alliances, but through individual countries and, above all, individual leaders … he has a sceptical view of alliances.” Equally effective is the extravagant flattery bestowed by Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister who has made an art of adapting his natural garrulousness to play the role of “Trump whisperer”, frequently praising the US president for “saving” Nato by getting European allies to raise their spending on defence, long a Trump bugbear. “Rutte is really doing a good job of trying to say to Trump, ‘Hey, it’s working. His remarkable public change of heart towards Zelenskyy – who was once told by Trump in the White House that “You don’t hold the cards” – may be fueled by disappointment in Putin, for offering no concessions to help end a conflict which has now lasted longer than the first world war, as well as a consciousness of sentiments in US Congress, to which the president had paid little heed in other affairs. “I think there’s a question of congressional opinion here,” said Lesser. “And as we get closer to the midterm elections, this is obviously going to weigh more heavily.” Despite the unexpectedly emollient finale, a school of thought has emerged that Trump’s regular bashing of allies will leave a permanent mark – even if he is eventually replaced by an administration with a more traditional view of the transatlantic alliance. Kupchan – author of a recent article entitled “America does not know its own mind” – warned Trump was a symptom, rather than cause, of a foreign policy malaise. “The underlying problem is the collapse of the political center – the reality that the United States doesn’t really have a foreign policy any more,” he said. “Every time there’s a presidential election, we swing from one grand strategy to a completely different grand strategy. “If you’re the chancellor of Germany or the prime minister of Japan and h

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Heat dome to push temperatures over 100°F across two-thirds of US

A severe heatwave spread across the United States on Saturday, with forecasters predicting temperatures reaching triple-digits in the Southwest and Great Plains over the weekend, the Associated Press reported. Residents, struggling to walk or cycle to nearby cooling centres, were seen putting the ICE (immigration enforcement agency) packs around their necks and heads, as temperatures in the area are expected to reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international developments shaping global politics, policy, and migration trends. The desk focuses on stories with direct relevance for Indian and global audiences, combining breaking news with in-depth explainers and analysis. A major focus area of the desk is US immigration and visa policy, including developments related to student visas, work permits, permanent residency pathways, executive actions, and court rulings. The Global Desk also closely tracks Canada’s immigration, visa, and study policies, covering changes to study permits, post-study work options, permanent residence programmes, and regulatory updates affecting migrants and international students. All reporting from the Global Desk adheres to The Indian Express’ editorial standards, relying on official data, government notifications, court documents, and on-record sources. Core Team The Express Global Desk is led by a team of experienced journalists and editors with deep expertise in international affairs and migration policy: Aniruddha Dhar – Senior Assistant Editor with extensive experience in global affairs, international politics, and editorial leadership. Nischai Vats – Deputy Copy Editor specialising in US politics, US visa and immigration policy, and policy-driven international coverage. Mashkoora Khan – Sub-editor focusing on global developments, with a strong emphasis on Canada visa, immigration, and study-related policy coverage. ...

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon set for first ISS mission

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More in General U.S. News

Former Qatar Emir Sheikh, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, dies at 74

US allies apprehensive after capricious Trump changes tune at Nato summit

Heat dome to push temperatures over 100°F across two-thirds of US