NASA selects Indian-origin Dr. Anil Menon among 10 candidates for astronaut training

Indian-origin Anil Menon has been chosen as a member of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class that was announced on Monday, December 6 at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson made the announcement for the latest class of 10 astronauts who will be prepared for future space exploration missions. 

"Today we welcome 10 new explorers, 10 members of the Artemis generation, NASA’s 2021 astronaut candidate class. Alone, each candidate has ‘the right stuff,’ but together they represent the creed of our country: E Pluribus Unum – out of many, one", Nelson said as per NASA. The ten astronauts have made the cutoff list after a thorough selection process which saw over 12,000 applications for the job.

As for Dr. Menon, he will report for duty starting January 2022 and will undergo rigorous training for two years with nine other candidates. According to NASA, the astronauts will be trained majorly in five categories which include- operating and maintaining the International Space Station's complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and Russian language skills. But first of all, let's take a look at Dr Menon’s journey to becoming another potential astronaut with an Indian background. 

From US Air Force to NASA

Just like his colleague Raja Chari, Menon has also served in the US Air force as a lieutenant colonel. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a Ukrainian-Indian pair, the 45-year-old is married to Anna Menon, a SpaceX employee and has two children with her. As for his works, Menon has made significant contributions to both NASA and SpaceX in the past. 

He was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon during NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission and helped in building a medical organization for future missions. Apart from SpaceX, Menon has also served NASA as the crew flight surgeon for various crewed expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS). Already a decorated physician, he has also been a first responder in major natural disasters such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and the 2011 Reno Air Show accident. 

Menon also carries a golden educational portfolio as he has a bachelor’s degree in Neurobiology and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Harvard (1999) and Stanford (2004) respectively. Serving as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in India for over a year to study India’s polio vaccination drive, Menon has also researched Huntington’s disease while at Harvard. With the latest inclusion of ten new candidates in the 2021 class of astronauts, the total count of astronauts selected by NASA since the 1959 Mercury Seven mission has reached 360.

Image: NASA