NASA has announced its latest astronaut class, which includes ten candidates — five men and five women — who will train for upcoming missions to commercial space stations, the Moon, and potentially Mars. Among the newly selected candidates is Anna Menon, who brings valuable experience, having already participated in a spaceflight.
On September 22, 2024, at a ceremony held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the agency introduced its 2025 astronaut class, emphasizing the diverse backgrounds of the candidates. Menon, who previously flew to Earth orbit on SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, is particularly noteworthy. This mission, which took place on September 10, 2024, marked a significant achievement in private space exploration.
The Polaris Dawn mission, commanded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, was the first in a series designed to explore the capabilities of private space travel. Menon, alongside pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and herself, spent five days in orbit. They reached a maximum altitude of 870 miles (1,400.7 kilometers), the highest altitude achieved by a crewed flight since the Apollo missions. This historic flight not only set a new record but also made Menon and Gillis the first women to fly higher than any female astronaut has before.
Polaris Dawn also achieved another milestone with the first-ever private spacewalk. On September 12, 2024, the crew opened the hatch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule “Resilience” and conducted a spacewalk, providing them with unprecedented views of Earth from space.
During the announcement ceremony, Menon chose to highlight her background in biomedical engineering rather than her past spaceflight. Holding a master’s degree from Duke University, she expressed enthusiasm about advancing space medicine. “My first role out of graduate school was here at NASA’s Johnson Space Center,” Menon noted. “I worked as a biomedical flight controller, supporting medical hardware and software on the International Space Station.”
Reflecting on the future of space medicine, she stated, “As more people venture into space, we have an incredible opportunity to learn and support the health of astronauts in their adventures.”
Menon’s classmates in the 2025 astronaut candidate class include Ben Bailey, Lauren Edgar, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron Jones, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash, and Katherine Spies. This marks the 24th astronaut class in NASA’s history and the first since 2021.
The candidates will begin two years of rigorous training, preparing for a variety of potential missions. Some may participate in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon, while others could be among the first to set foot on Mars. The future of space exploration looks bright, and these astronaut candidates are poised to lead the charge into the next frontier.