Dr. Anil Menon, son of Indian and Ukrainian immigrants, graduated as a Nasa astronaut after a two-year-long training with the American space agency.
Selected by Nasa for the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, Dr. Menon has had a striking career in both medicine and aerospace.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. Menon's academic journey began with a Bachelor’s Degree in Neurobiology from Harvard University, followed by a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
He earned a Doctor of Medicine from Stanford Medical School, further specialising with a residency in Emergency Medicine and fellowships in Wilderness Medicine and Aerospace Medicine. He had also attended the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi for a year.
Before joining Nasa, he was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, playing a pivotal role in launching the company's first humans to space during the Demo-2 mission.
His work at SpaceX also involved building a medical organisation to support human missions in the future. Prior to this, he served as a crew flight surgeon for various expeditions on the International Space Station, showcasing his commitment to astronaut health and safety.
His medical expertise is not confined to the realms of space. As an emergency medicine physician, Dr. Menon has been on the front lines of disaster response, aiding in the aftermath of earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, and the Reno Air Show accident.
His military service is equally commendable, with over 100 sorties logged in the F-15 as part of the critical care air transport team, demonstrating his versatility and dedication to saving lives.
He was 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.
With research spanning neurobiology, wilderness medicine, and aerospace medicine, his work at NASA Ames Research Center on coding soft tissue models and his thesis on medical kits for commercial spaceflight have contributed significantly to the field of space medicine.
