Kochi: Anil Menon and two other astronauts cast their ballots in the US midterm elections from aboard the International Space Station (ISS) over 400 km above Earth on November 3.In a video on X, Menon said he and fellow NASA astronauts Luke Delaney and Jessica Watkins completed electronic ballots and securely transmitted them to election officials.
Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman complimented the astronauts for participating in the elections despite being out of Earth.”Inside of it is my computer, where I was able to fill out an electronic form and send it to Harris County so I could vote today,” he said. Menon reached the ISS on July 14 aboard a Russian Soyuz mission, while Delaney and Watkins arrived on October 1 aboard a SpaceX rocket, Times of India reported.Ballots are encrypted and transmitted securely, with access restricted to the astronaut and the relevant election clerk to protect the integrity of the vote. US astronauts have been voting from space since 1997. Nasa astronaut David Wolf became the first to use the provision, casting his ballot from Russia’s Mir space station.
Photo: X
