Anil Menon prepares bacterial samples for planned Earth return

NASA astronaut Anil Menon processed microbe samples in the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory on November 10, 2026, as the crew prepared specimens for return to Earth, according to the agency’s station log. He worked inside the sealed Life Science Glovebox to contain potentially antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk moved selected samples to the Harmony module, extracted their DNA for purification and stored the specimens in a science freezer, NASA’s account records. The planned next step was return aboard a Dragon cargo spacecraft the following week for analysis on Earth.

The log links the work to Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space, an investigation that surveys the station for antibiotic-resistant organisms. NASA’s February 19, 2025 overview describes astronauts swabbing interior surfaces and testing samples, with the aim of improving detection and understanding how these bacteria adapt to space.

Menon is an Indian-origin NASA astronaut. His agency biography records that he was born and raised in Minneapolis to Indian and Ukrainian immigrants.

The November 10 entry documents sample handling and preservation, rather than a new result on bacterial resistance. It does not confirm that the specimens have returned to Earth or give a completed post-flight analysis.