
Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon completed his first spacewalk outside the International Space Station on August 6, Times Now News reports. He worked alongside NASA astronaut Jessica Meir during US Spacewalk 96,…
Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon completed his first spacewalk outside the International Space Station on August 6, Times Now News reports. He worked alongside NASA astronaut Jessica Meir during US Spacewalk 96, the 281st spacewalk supporting the ISS. The mission lasted about six and a half hours.

Menon and Meir prepared the station’s 3B power channel for another Roll-Out Solar Array, planned for installation later this year. The additional panel is expected to increase electricity for research, life-support systems and other operations. Menon, born in Minneapolis to Indian and Ukrainian immigrant parents, was part of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class. Two more NASA spacewalks are scheduled for August 13 and 25.
Some reactions will treat Menon’s Indian roots as proof of India’s direct role in a NASA mission, while others may dismiss the event as publicity. Both readings miss the work itself. This was a technically demanding upgrade to keep the ISS supplied with power, carried out by a NASA crew. The useful measure is whether the new array and later maintenance tasks improve station capacity, not how widely the video circulates.
Sources (3): ndtvprofit.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.