NASA astronaut Anil Menon will be available for limited media interviews beginning at 9 a.m. EDT Monday, June 22, to discuss his upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74/75.

The virtual interviews will take place from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel.

Media interested in participating must submit a request to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, by emailing jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

Menon is scheduled to launch to the space station Tuesday, July 14, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The trio will spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in spring 2027.

During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help humans prepare for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and to provide benefits on Earth. Among the hundreds of experiments planned during his mission, he will participate in studies to better understand astronaut vein structure, blood flow, and blood composition in microgravity. He also will test producing intravenous fluids using the space station’s potable water.

The Soyuz MS-29 mission will be his first spaceflight after he was selected as part of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class. A native of Minneapolis, Menon is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He also has served as an expedition flight surgeon supporting the agency’s crew members aboard the space station.

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end- 

Jimi Russell  
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1100 
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Anna Schneider / Mary Pfister
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov / mary.m.pfister@nasa.gov

The post NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Available for Prelaunch Virtual Interviews appeared first on NASA Science.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon will be available for limited media interviews beginning at 9 a.m. EDT Monday, June 22, to discuss his upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74/75.

The virtual interviews will take place from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel.

Media interested in participating must submit a request to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, by emailing jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

Menon is scheduled to launch to the space station Tuesday, July 14, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The trio will spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in spring 2027.

During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help humans prepare for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and to provide benefits on Earth. Among the hundreds of experiments planned during his mission, he will participate in studies to better understand astronaut vein structure, blood flow, and blood composition in microgravity. He also will test producing intravenous fluids using the space station’s potable water.

The Soyuz MS-29 mission will be his first spaceflight after he was selected as part of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class. A native of Minneapolis, Menon is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He also has served as an expedition flight surgeon supporting the agency’s crew members aboard the space station.

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end- 

Jimi Russell  
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1100 
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Anna Schneider / Mary Pfister
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov / mary.m.pfister@nasa.gov

Across the stories today, a common thread emerges around the gap between scientific urgency and practical action — from coral reefs that might survive climate change to political systems struggling to keep pace with environmental reality.

The day’s coverage points to growing momentum around citizen-led conservation, revealing how communities are stepping in where institutions fall short. In Britain, volunteers are using remote cameras to protect red squirrels while citizen scientists help restore bog insect populations through coordinated community efforts. Meanwhile, American homeowners are banding together in group buying programs, saving thousands of dollars on heat pumps while collectively advancing climate solutions one neighborhood at a time.

Yet this grassroots energy exists alongside troubling institutional retreats. The UK government appears ready to scale back electric vehicle targets after industry pushback, while critical monitoring systems for Atlantic ocean currents — which could collapse ten times faster than previously predicted — may lose funding just when we need them most. It’s a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together, creating political tensions that can undermine long-term environmental goals.

The human cost of these delays becomes starkly visible in places like Delhi, where thermal imaging revealed that 43.5°C air temperatures translated into furnace-like conditions on urban surfaces, or in the Marshall Islands, where researchers race to identify “super reefs” that might survive rising ocean temperatures. Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time, from Thai rubber farmers navigating new EU deforestation rules to climate-displaced people facing growing barriers to safety as extreme weather events multiply.

Perhaps most striking is how wildlife serves as both victim and indicator of these broader pressures. Little terns face their most challenging breeding season yet due to dog disturbances, while a single black-headed gull spotted in Australia sends bird enthusiasts flying across the continent — a reminder of how rare the unexpected has become. Meanwhile, Mexican long-tongued bats continue their nightly dance through agave flowers, unknowingly keeping the tequila industry alive through pollination, even as global wildlife trade creates what scientists call “pandemic roulette” by moving billions of animals across unnatural boundaries.

The most promising thread runs through stories of restoration and discovery. A former banker is bringing back Australia’s lost Big Scrub rainforest, while Amazon deforestation drops to nearly decade-low levels, showing environmental progress is possible when political will aligns with practical action. Century-old Antarctic research voyages are revealing early clues to El Niño patterns, and scientists have identified hidden pollutants driving 15 percent of global warming — knowledge that could reshape climate policy.

Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta’s argument that “false narratives drive environmental destruction” feels particularly relevant amid today’s stories. From conservation groups rejecting shark culling calls in favor of drone technology to the controversy over displaying an African elephant at a political convention, the battle over environmental stories — which ones we tell, which ones we fund, which ones we act upon — shapes outcomes as much as any scientific discovery.

As the week unfolds, all eyes will be on whether these citizen-led conservation efforts can scale fast enough to compensate for institutional hesitation, and whether the gap between scientific understanding and political action will narrow or continue to widen in the face of accelerating environmental change.

The post Delhi Hits 43.5°C as Urban Heat Islands Intensify, Thames Microplastics Study Launched While Dog Disturbances Threaten Record Little Tern Breeding Season — Today’s Environmental Briefing for Mon, Jun 15 2026 first appeared on EnviroLink Network.

The United Kingdom appears ready to soften its ambitious electric vehicle transition goals following sustained pressure from automotive manufacturers and labor unions. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly prepared to override Environment Secretary Ed Miliband’s stance on maintaining the current 2030 timeline for electric vehicle adoption.

The government is now planning to launch a public consultation on revised, less stringent targets for the shift to battery-powered vehicles throughout the remainder of this decade. This potential policy reversal comes after car manufacturers and union representatives raised serious concerns about the economic impact of the current mandates.

Industry leaders have argued that the existing 2030 targets could result in financial penalties for manufacturers who struggle to meet the aggressive sales quotas. They warn that such penalties could force companies to reduce operations or relocate production facilities, potentially leading to significant job losses across the automotive sector.

The debate highlights the ongoing tension between environmental policy goals and economic realities in the transition to cleaner transportation. While electric vehicle adoption has been steadily increasing, manufacturers contend that consumer demand and charging infrastructure development have not kept pace with government expectations. The automotive industry employs hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK, making job security a critical consideration in policy decisions.

This development represents a significant test for the government’s climate commitments, as transportation accounts for a substantial portion of the country’s carbon emissions. The final decision on whether to adjust these targets will likely influence the UK’s broader environmental strategy and its ability to meet international climate pledges.

The post UK Government Considers Scaling Back Electric Vehicle Sales Targets After Industry Pushback first appeared on EnviroLink Network.