After 50 years, NASA is working on a mission to send humans to the moon. American space agency NASA has selected 10 trainee astronauts for its Moon mission. Indian-origin Anil Menon is amongst the astronauts chosen for the mission. With this mission, an Indian could be the one to step on the moon’s surface. Menon can be adorned with this laurel of achievements.
45-year-old Menon will be part of NASA’s 2021 classes among the other 10 astronauts. 6 males and 4 women are among the 10 persons chosen for this class.
Who is Anil Menon?
Anil is a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force. He was also a flight surgeon in SpaceX. Anil Menon was born to Indian and Ukrainian parents. He grew up in Minnesota, the United States. In 1999, he received his bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard University. In 2004, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in California. In addition, he holds a doctorate from Stanford Medical School. He’s also been a crew flight surgeon on several NASA missions to the International Space Station.
Worked for SpaceX
Anil Menon began working for NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014. He was also a part of the Soyuz mission. He joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2018. Aided in the development of medical programs and the planning of the company’s first human flight . He was involved in the construction of starships, the astronaut program, and the launch programs.
About the Moon Mission
This mission is also worth mentioning as no Indian astronaut has ever landed on the moon so far. However, till now 4 Indians have gone to space. Rakesh Sharma was the first astronaut of India to travel to space. Apart from him, Indian-origin Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, and Raja Chari have gone to space. If Anil becomes a part of NASA’s Moon mission, he will be the first person of Indian origin to land on the Moon.
Aside from Anil, the other nine selected trainee astronauts are US Air Force Major Nicole Ayers and Major Marcos Berioso, US Marine Corps Major (Retd) Luke Delaney, US Navy Lieutenant Commander Jessica Wittner, and Lieutenant Deniz Burnham, US Navy Commander Jack Hathaway, Christopher Williams, Christina Birchow, and Andre Douglas.
10 out of 12,000 selected
NASA received approximately 12 thousand applications for this Moon mission, of which only 10 were chosen. In January of next year, all ten people selected for the Moon mission will begin two years of training at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. Following the training, ten people will be selected to participate in the Artemis Generation Program. Through this program only, they will be sent to the moon.
