NASA astronaut Anil Menon and two Russian cosmonauts departed from Kazakhstan on Tuesday (July 14) aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft carrying Anil Menon and Russian astronauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina left the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:17 pm Indian time.

This vehicle will take about three hours to reach the space station and will make two rounds of the Earth. After this, it will automatically connect to the ‘Prichal Module’ of the station at 11:56 pm. According to NASA, this is Anil Menon’s first space journey, while both the Russian astronauts have gone on a space mission for the second time.

Anil Menon’s family members, including his astronaut wife Anna Wilhelm, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman were present at the Baikonur Cosmodrome during the launch of the space mission. After reaching the space station, these three astronauts will join the mission along with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos astronauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyayev.

Will return to Earth in April 2027

This mission of Anil Menon, Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina will last for about eight months. All three are scheduled to return to Earth in April 2027. According to NASA, Anil Menon will demonstrate scientific research and new technologies in space. Their purpose is to advance human space exploration and develop technologies that benefit life on Earth.

Yelena Remizova, head of Russia’s international humanitarian cooperation agency Rossotrudnichestvo, had earlier told the government news agency Tass that paintings made by Indian school children are also being sent into space with this rocket.

Anil Menon has worked in US Air Force

Anil Menon was born in Minneapolis, USA, to immigrant parents of Ukrainian and Indian origin. He is an emergency medicine physician by profession and is a colonel in the American Space Force. During his service in the US Air Force, he worked on the front lines in Afghanistan under ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’. Apart from this, he also worked with the Himalayan Rescue Association, where he provided medical aid to climbers on Mount Everest.

Anil Menon (49) spent a year in India as a ‘Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar’ to study and support the polio vaccination campaign. He started his career as a ‘Flight Surgeon’ at NASA in 2014. During this time he worked with astronauts living and working on the International Space Station (ISS).

Anil Menon was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021. After this, he started preparations by joining a two-year training program next month. His wife Anna has traveled to space in September 2024 under the private human space mission ‘Polaris Dawn’ operated by SpaceX. This mission lasted for about five days.

Input – PTI

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Last Wednesday, Pakistan issued a joint declaration with Kazakhstan. Releasing it, Pakistan claimed that both the countries support resolving the Kashmir issue as per the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). At the same time, the reality seems far away from this. Contrary to Pakistan’s claims, Kazakhstan’s official website and its government news agency have not made any mention of the Kashmir issue.

The official documents issued by Kazakhstan only talk about economic cooperation, connectivity and trade agreements. Kashmir has been mentioned several times in paragraph 15 of the joint declaration issued by the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan.

What things have been agreed upon
A total of 37 to 60 agreements have been signed between Pakistan and Kazakhstan. Cooperation in the mineral industry and geological sciences, agreement on joint deployment of units in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Several other agreements include Kazakhstan’s access to Karachi and Gwadar ports and discussions on the Trans-Caspian transport corridor. Apart from all this, cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital economy has also been discussed between the two countries.

Till now Kazakhstan has remained neutral on Kashmir
For your information, let us tell you that Kazakhstan has always traditionally adopted a neutral stance on the Kashmir issue and has deep strategic and economic relations with India. India has always considered Kashmir a bilateral issue and has opposed any third party intervention or past references to UN Security Council resolutions.

Diplomatic experts believe that if Kazakhstan has actually signed this statement then it could create tension in its relations with India. However, the absence of official confirmation from Kazakhstan indicates that this could be just a trick by Pakistan.

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Rahul Ghosalia, a resident of Shahpura, Jaipur, who is doing MBBS in Kazakhstan, was airlifted from Kazakhstan to Jaipur on Monday evening. On October 8, Rahul was admitted to the hospital due to a brain stroke while studying in the library in Kazakhstan, where his family members demanded that he be brought to India to provide better medical facilities. In such a situation, with the help of public cooperation and social organizations, he was airlifted to Jaipur. At present his treatment is going on in SMS Hospital.

Rahul Ghosalia has been airlifted from Kazakhstan to Jaipur. District administration team including CMHO Dr. Ravi Shekhawat, Shahpura BJP leader Upendra Yadav were present at Jaipur Airport. A special critical ambulance and a team of doctors from SMS Hospital were also sent to the airport, which took Rahul to SMS Hospital. Currently, he is kept under the supervision of a special team of doctors.

Was doing MBBS in Kazakhstan from 2021

Rahul, a resident of Nayabas village of Jaipur, was pursuing MBBS in Kazakhstan since the year 2021. On October 8 this month, Rahul suffered brain hemorrhage. Since then he was on ventilator support in the hospital there. After that the family members raised the demand to bring Rahul to India.

Cooperation was sought from the government for better treatment

Where he could get better treatment, cooperation was sought from the Government of India and the State Government through social media. Demands were also raised on social media through social organizations and public cooperation, after which Rahul was brought to India after the mediation of the Ministry of External Affairs.

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Got conscious 30 hours after admission

Rahul was studying in the library on 8th October. During this time he vomited and started feeling dizzy, after which Rahul returned to his hostel. He took some medicines but despite that his health did not improve. After this, Rahul’s friends admitted him to the Medical College hospital. The family told that Rahul was conscious till 30 hours after being admitted to the hospital, after which his health deteriorated.

Kazakhstan hijab law: In Kazakhstan, women will no longer be able to wear masked or face -covering clothes in public places. President Qasim Jomart Tokayev has signed this new law on Monday. This law prohibits all the citizens on the face covering the face in public places.

The special thing about this decision is that 70 percent of Kazakhstan’s population is Muslim and Islam has a tradition of wearing hijab or mask for women. However, the government has not directly mentioned any religion or religious dress in its law. But still, it is believed that this rule can affect religious attire, especially. Some exemption has also been given in this law. For example, if someone is sick, the weather is very bad, there is a sports or cultural program, then in such cases the face will be allowed to cover.

There is such rule in other countries also

Before Kazakhstan, some other countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have also stopped wearing masks or burqas. Now Kazakhstan has also started on the path of those countries. There is a possibility of response from religious organizations there to this decision of the government.

What has the President of Kazakhstan said?

Kazakhstan President Tokayev has described the new law made on the face covering the country as promoting the traditional identity of the country. He says that people should wear traditional clothes of the country instead of their face hiding clothes, which show our culture well. He also said that it is necessary to maintain the secularism of the country. Earlier, in 2023, the government had banned wearing hijab and mask in schools. Many girls also opposed this decision.

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Trans-Caspian International Transport Route: The scope of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is constantly increasing on Global Trade Infrastructure. India is looking for another route to reduce dependence on this.

One such way is the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. Under the leadership of Kazakhstan, work is going on fast. Let us know that China announced Belt and Road Initiative in the year 2013. Its purpose is to connect many continents by land and sea route. The flow of goods, capital, technology and human resources has been promoted among the countries included in its network.

India dislikes BRI

Actually, India does not like some BRI things such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to go through the way of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). India has always opposed it. India says that this violates their regional sovereignty. In 2024, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in an interview to ANI, “We are not in favor of CPEC.” We are against it. This is against our regional integrity and sovereignty. However, now the route on which work is going on starts not with Beijing, but from Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is investing a lot on this network

According to the Economic Times, Kazakhstan is becoming a logistics hub of Eurasia through this middle corridor. India is not directly connected to this network, but by moving fast on this, India can get a chance to reduce dependence on BRI and diversify its trade routes. The Transport Ministry of Kazakhstan said that in 2024, traffic on TITR has increased by 62 percent to 4.5 million tonnes. Container transport increased by 170 percent to 56,500 teu, with 35,600 teu transportation on the China-Europe route, which is 27 times more than the previous year. By 2025, the target is 5.2 million tonnes and 70,000 TEU.

According to The Economic Times report, Kazakistan is investing extensively in its logistic network. In 2025 alone, its plan is to modernize 13,000 km long roads and 6,100 km railway route. Apart from this, the scope of six airports is also to be carried forward and there is a plan to create new marine terminals including a container hub with a capacity of 240,000 Teus in Aktau. By 2029, 11,000 km of other railway lines will also be upgraded.

What does it mean to India?

95 percent of India’s foreign trade is through sea route. Its value is 67 percent. The Suez Canal route to trade with Europe, North Africa and America matters a lot. 35 percent of India’s total foreign trade is done through this route. This Suez Canal creates a sea route for trade between Europe and Asia by connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Now, since the dominance of Huti rebels in the Red Sea, there is an atmosphere of struggle, most of the global container shipping companies are catching the route around the Suez Canal and instead the Cape of Good Hope. Due to this, the cost of freight has increased by up to 122 percent.

TITR is a land-community multimodal alternative, which can reduce traffic on the sea route, reduce the cost of freight and Indian expotors, especially to export unruly goods in European markets. The most poppy is that Titr connects with India’s International North-South Transport Corridor (Instc) which is a 7,200 km long network that connects Mumbai to Europe through Iran and Russia. Titr and Instc may be different, but they share geographical nodes in the Caspian Sea and Caucasus, especially Azerbaijan. In such a situation, the supply of goods from India can also be done through the Instc and the TITR segment can be adopted to reach Central Asia, Türkiye and Europe.

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