An American astronaut is about to blast off for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station - and he's carrying a little bit of tri-state pride with him.

Senior investigative reporter Tara Rosenblum caught up with Anil Menon during his final days of training in Russia and discovered a special connection to News 12 viewers.

Even halfway across the world, Menon has been cheering on local sports.

"I was blown away by the Knicks victory. I watched it from here," Menon said. "And you know, like sometimes at NASA, we have to do the impossible. And it's great to see the tri-state kind of doing the impossible, too."

Menon will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in just two weeks. Having just passed his high-pressure final exams, all eyes are now on launch day.

Once in orbit, the former SpaceX flight surgeon will use his medical expertise to study what happens to the human body in space.

"In space, the blood doesn't flow normally because it's just pooling. And so we've seen more blood clots than we've expected in space," he explained. "We'll be doing a lot of ultrasounds and checking for things like that."

The research could pave the way for future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond, but for this tri-state-loving astronaut, the immediate countdown is on.