Anil Menon graduates as NASA astronaut

Dr. Anil Menon, SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, who helped launch its first humans to space during the Demo-2 mission, has graduated as a NASA astronaut with nine others.

Nicknamed “The Flies,” the group which graduated March 5 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, is now eligible for spaceflight assignments to the International Space Station, future orbiting destinations, the Moon, and beyond.

Selected for training in 2021, the astronaut graduates were chosen from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants and successfully completed more than two years of required basic training, including spacewalking, robotics, space station systems, and more.

“For decades, America has led the world in space exploration due, in no small part, to our courageous astronauts,” said Vice President

Kamala Harris congratulated the “ten outstanding Americans who make up NASA’s latest class of astronauts,” as Chair of the National Space Council.

READ: Indian American astronaut Raja Chari takes first spacewalk (March 17, 2022)

“Our nation is grateful for their service and honors their commitment to our shared vision of exploration,” she said. “Their determination, incredible skill, and training will help expand our understanding of the universe.”

“This diverse group of leaders from across our country will become a part of the next generation of space explorers who will break new barriers, including walking on the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign and traveling to Mars,” Harris said.

“As we celebrate this latest class of astronauts, the United States will continue to lead the return to the Moon with our commercial and international partners for scientific discovery, economic and societal benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers,” she said.

READ: Indian American astronaut Sirisha Bandla joins Kalpana Chawla Project (October 6, 2021)

Menon who was selected by NASA to join the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, also helped build a medical organization to support the human system during SpaceX’s future missions.

Before that, he served NASA as the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions on the International Space Station. Menon is an actively practicing emergency medicine physician with fellowship training in wilderness and aerospace medicine. As a physician he was a first responder during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and the 2011 Reno Air Show accident.

In the US Air Force, Lt. Col. Menon supports the 45th Space Wing as a flight surgeon and supported the 173rd Fighter Wing where he logged over 100 sorties in the F-15 and transported over 100 patients as part of the critical care air transport team.

Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants. He is married to Anna Menon who works at SpaceX, and they have two children.

READ: Sirisha Bandla becomes third Indian American space woman (July 12, 2021)

Menon enjoys teaching general aviation as a certified flight instructor and has logged over 1,000 hours as a pilot. He enjoys endurance races such as Ironman and Kokoro and backpacking with his family.

At Harvard, Menon studied neurobiology and conducted research on Huntington’s disease. He later spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support Polio vaccination.

He attended Stanford Medical School where he studied engineering and medicine and worked on coding soft tissue models at NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California.

During his residency training in emergency medicine, Menon joined the California Air National Guard and gained experience in wilderness medicine through support for remote adventure races like Racing The Planet.

READ: Indian American Sirisha Bandla set to fly off into space on July 11 (July 5, 2021)

Following his residency, he deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom and worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association to care for climbers on Mount Everest.

Menon later transferred to the 173rd Fighter Wing for military duty and pursued a residency in aerospace medicine at UTMB-Galveston, where he published his thesis on medical kits for commercial spaceflight.

During his aerospace training, he deployed twice with the US Air Force critical care air transport team to treat and transport wounded warriors. He later transferred to the Air Force reserves, 45th operational group, Detachment 3 of the 45th Space Wing to provide medical direction for launch and landings.

In 2018, Menon joined SpaceX where he started its medical program and helped prepare for the company’s first human flights. He served as the lead flight surgeon for five launches and helped start their research program, private astronaut programs, and worked on development of the Starship.

Menon started as a NASA flight surgeon in 2014. He supported four long-duration crew members on the International Space Station as the deputy crew surgeon for Soyuz missions Soyuz 39 and Soyuz 43 and prime crew surgeon for Soyuz 52.

As a member of the Human Health and Performance Directorate, he also served as the medical lead for the health maintenance system and direct return aircraft development. He lived and worked in Star City, Russia, for more than six months.