Veteran of Polaris Dawn
NASA’s newest class of astronaut candidates includes a trailblazer with previous spaceflight experience. Biomedical engineer Anna Menon, 39, has already been to orbit as part of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, making her one of the rare NASA astronaut candidates who had traveled to space before selection. In September 2024, Menon and three crewmates flew aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience, reaching an altitude of 870 miles — the highest crewed flight since Apollo. The mission also staged the first private spacewalk, expanding the frontiers of commercial spaceflight.
Biomedical expertise
At NASA’s announcement ceremony in Houston, Menon emphasized her biomedical background rather than her prior flight. A graduate of Duke University with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, she began her career at Johnson Space Center as a biomedical flight controller. In that role, she supported medical hardware and systems aboard the International Space Station. Menon highlighted the importance of advancing space medicine as humans prepare for longer and more distant missions, stressing the need to understand how the human body adapts when moving from Earth’s gravity to microgravity.
NASA’s 24th astronaut class
Menon is one of 10 candidates in NASA’s latest group, evenly split between men and women. Her classmates include Ben Bailey, Lauren Edgar, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron Jones, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash and Katherine Spies. Over the next two years, they will undergo intensive training, including robotics, spacewalking skills, language study, and survival exercises. These preparations could lead them to a range of missions — from low-Earth orbit commercial stations to the Artemis program’s lunar landings and even future expeditions to Mars.
Looking ahead
Menon’s unique profile bridges commercial and government space programs, showing how private-sector experience is shaping NASA’s next generation of explorers. Her trajectory mirrors that of earlier astronauts who first flew as international payload specialists before being recruited by NASA. With her dual expertise in spaceflight operations and biomedical science, Menon is well positioned to play a central role as NASA pushes human exploration deeper into the solar system.