A NASA astronaut from Minneapolis is set to launch on a mission to the International Space Station next summer.

Dr. Anil Menon will head to the space station on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft in June 2026 as a flight engineer and Expedition 75 crew member, NASA said. He'll be accompanied by two cosmonauts, and they'll spend about eight months aboard the ISS.

"During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit humanity," NASA said.

Menon graduated with the 23rd astronaut class in 2024. In addition to his work with NASA, Menon practices emergency medicine and is a colonel in the U.S. Space Force, as well as a mechanical engineer.

Menon was the crew flight surgeon for both SpaceX flights and served NASA in the same role on various expeditions, but this will be his first time in space.

Along with helping on space missions, Menon has also used his medical training to respond to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

Menon said his experiences growing up in Minnesota inspired him to become an astronaut.

"One is going to the Science Museum of Minnesota, being at the Omnitheater and watching this movie as a kid, 'The Dream is Alive,' and I saw these astronauts doing a space walk and working in space and I thought, 'That's what I want to do,' like how do you do something out there that's that amazing and adventurous, and I just loved it," Menon said. "So that's kind of where the spark started, I had no idea how to do that, I just thought it was really cool and kept it in the back of my mind."

The astronaut will have a little piece of home with him when he heads to the ISS.

"I'll also have a Minnesota flag that I can bear proudly, so I'll fly that as well," he said.