Astronaut Anil Menon to Undertake First Spacewalk Next Week

WASHINGTON, Jul 28: Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon is set to undertake his maiden spacewalk next week as part of ongoing maintenance and upgrade work aboard the International Space Station (ISS). According to NASA, Menon will carry out three spacewalks with fellow astronaut Jessica Meir on August 6, 13 and 25 to prepare the orbital laboratory for the installation of the International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) later this year. The astronauts will install new data and power cables, upgrade the station’s solar array infrastructure and carry out maintenance work to support the ISS’s long-term operations and future deorbit plans. During the second spacewalk on August 13, the duo will replace a Space-to-Ground communications antenna, a critical system used for transmitting data and maintaining high-speed communication between the ISS and NASA’s Mission Control Centre in Houston. On August 25, they will connect power channel cables and data relay systems, while also replacing a navigational aid used for spacecraft docking on the Harmony module. NASA said the new IROSA arrays will enhance the station’s power generation capability, ensuring reliable support for scientific research and future missions. Menon, whose family traces its roots to Palakkad in Kerala, arrived at the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on July 14. He is expected to spend around eight months in orbit conducting scientific experiments, technology demonstrations and station operations.