Emergency medicine physician, NASA astronaut candidate, and US Air Force lieutenant colonel Anil Menon has diverse experience. Minneapolis native Menon joined the California Air National Guard to do humanitarian missions. NASA’s crew flight surgeon became SpaceX’s first. December 2021 saw his acceptance into the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, making him eligible for future missions. Anna and Menon enjoy trekking and endurance competitions.
Anil Menon is not your common doctor. US Air Force lieutenant colonel, emergency medicine physician, and NASA astronaut candidate. He has done NASA and SpaceX flight surgery and humanitarian work. Certified flying instructor, pilot, endurance athlete. The 2021 NASA astronaut class has 10 candidates from over 12,000 applicants.
Menon was raised in Minneapolis by Ukrainian and Indian parents. Since he liked science and engineering as a kid, he studied at Harvard, Stanford, and UTMB Galveston. He became board-certified in aerospace and emergency medicine after studying neurology, mechanical engineering, medicine, and public health.
His stellar resume includes joining the California Air National Guard during emergency medicine residency and serving in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He first responded to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2015 Nepal earthquake, and 2011 Reno Air Show catastrophe while working for the Himalayan Rescue Association, which helped Mount Everest climbers.
NASA hired him as a crew flight surgeon in 2014 to support ISS missions. The health maintenance system and direct return aircraft were his projects at NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate. In 2018, he became SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping launch Demo-2’s first humans to space and creating a medical organization for future trips. He established a research program and built the Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket, as the lead flight surgeon for five missions.
In December 2021, NASA selected him and nine individuals from diverse backgrounds for the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, his career highlight. He reported for duty in January 2022 and received two years of rigorous training, including scientific and technical briefings, extensive International Space Station systems training, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, flying training, and water and wilderness survival training. His January 2024 graduation qualifies him for future missions, including the Artemis program, which aims to put a woman and person of color on the Moon and humans on Mars.
Menon married SpaceX employee Anna Menon and has two children. A trained flight instructor with over 1,000 pilot hours, he enjoys teaching general aviation. His passions include Ironman, Kokoro, and family trekking.
Menon is revered by Indian astronauts. He inspires future explorers and inventors by his curiosity, devotion, and hard work.
Conclusion
A former US Air Force lieutenant colonel, emergency medicine physician, and NASA astronaut candidate, Anil Menon has diverse experience. Minneapolis native Menon attended Harvard, Stanford, and UTMB. He engaged in California Air National Guard humanitarian operations. NASA hired him as a crew flight surgeon in 2014 to support ISS missions. His 2018 employment as SpaceX’s first flight surgeon helped propel its first humans into orbit. He was selected by NASA in December 2021 as an astronaut candidate. Menon received scientific and technical briefings, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. He can serve on Artemis after graduating in January 2024. Anna and Menon have two kids.
