NASA astronaut Anil Menon completed his fourth career spacewalk on 29 October 2026, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, at the International Space Station (ISS). The spacewalk lasted 7 hours and 11 minutes.
Solar array installation and crew records
The astronauts installed the seventh of eight new Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs), part of an upgrade to the ISS power system. The activity was the 100th U.S. spacewalk conducted from the station’s Quest airlock without a Space Shuttle docked. Menon’s cumulative spacewalking time is now 26 hours and 31 minutes.
Kutryk completed his first spacewalk, becoming the fifth Canadian astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity (EVA). Menon ranks second among Indian-origin astronauts for spacewalks, after Sunita Williams. Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants. He launched to the ISS in July 2026 for an eight-month mission.
A further spacewalk is scheduled for 5 November 2026, when Menon and Kutryk are expected to install the eighth and final iROSA.
Important Facts for Exams
- The ISS’s first module, Zarya, was launched on 20 November 1998.
- The ISS has had a continuous human presence since November 2000.
- The ISS partnership comprises five space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency.
