Anna Menon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Menon
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| Born |
Anna Wilhelm
December 24, 1985 Houston, Texas, U.S.
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| Education | |
| Occupation | Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX |
| Spouse(s) |
Anil Menon
(m. 2016) |
| Children | 2 |
| Space career | |
| SpaceX Commercial Astronaut | |
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Time in space
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4 days, 22 hours, 13 minutes |
| Missions | Polaris Dawn |
Anna Menon (born December 24, 1985) is an American engineer. She works at SpaceX as a lead space operations engineer and a mission director. She recently flew on Polaris Dawn, a private space mission run by SpaceX. During this mission in September 2024, she was the medical officer on board. Anna, along with Sarah Gillis, set a new record for women. They traveled farther from Earth than any woman before. Before joining SpaceX, Anna worked at NASA for six years. She helped manage operations on the International Space Station.
Her Education
Anna Menon went to Texas Christian University. She graduated in 2008 with degrees in mathematics and Spanish. Later, she earned a master's degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 2010.
Her Career
Working at NASA
Anna Menon worked at NASA for seven years. For six of those years, she was a biomedical flight controller. She helped astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). She worked from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. She also led medical operations for some space missions, including spacewalks.
Working at SpaceX
Anna Menon joined SpaceX in July 2018. She started as a Space Operations Engineer. By November 2019, she became a Lead Space Operations Engineer. In this important role, she helps create the plans and rules for astronauts during their space missions. She also worked in SpaceX's mission control center. She was part of the team for the Demo-2 flight.
During Inspiration4, a special private spaceflight, she helped the families of the astronauts. She explained how spaceflight works to them. After the mission, Jared Isaacman, who funded Inspiration4, chose Anna to join his next mission, Polaris Dawn. On the Polaris Dawn mission, Anna was the medical officer. She also helped with many science experiments during the trip.
Her Personal Life
Anna married Anil Menon, who is also a NASA astronaut. They got married on October 15, 2016, in Houston. They have two children together. Both Anna and Anil appeared in a television documentary called Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space. It was released on Netflix in September 2021.
See also
- Polaris program
