Archive · 29 Aug 2026
Trump Praises Anil Menon, Invites Astronauts to Oval Office
President Donald Trump spoke by phone with astronauts living on the International Space Station.
He praised Anil Menon, Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway for their courage.
Trump said he would like to meet them in the Oval Office when they return to Earth.
Menon told Trump about a spacewalk he completed.
He also said the United States is preparing to explore the Moon and Mars.
Trump discussed creating a new US Space Academy.
The academy would be placed alongside major military schools such as West Point.
Menon and the other astronauts are expected to spend about eight months conducting research in space.
President Donald Trump praised NASA astronauts Anil Menon, Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway during a call to the International Space Station.
Trump called the astronauts “great Americans, great patriots” and invited them to the Oval Office after their return.
Menon described completing a spacewalk and expressed support for future missions to the Moon, Mars and a planned Moon base.
Trump discussed his proposed US Space Academy, which he said should match the stature of the country’s military service academies.
Menon launched aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 on July 14 and is expected to spend about eight months in orbit before returning in April 2027.
- Who
- President Donald Trump and astronauts Anil Menon, Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway.
- What
- Trump praised the astronauts during a call to the International Space Station and invited them to the Oval Office after their return.
- When
- The call took place on a Friday; Menon launched aboard Soyuz MS-29 on July 14 and is expected to return in April 2027.
- Where
- The call was made from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to the International Space Station.
- Why
- Trump made the call to recognize the astronauts’ work and discuss US space exploration and a proposed Space Academy.
- Astronauts praised
- Anil Menon, Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway
- Anil Menon’s role
- Colonel in the US Space Force and NASA astronaut
- Mission spacecraft
- Russia’s Soyuz MS-29
- Launch date
- July 14
- Expected mission duration
- About eight months
- Expected return
- April 2027
- Proposed institution
- A US Space Academy intended to have a status comparable to major military service academies