| Anna Menon | |||||||
| Birth Name: | Anna Wilhelm | ||||||
| Birth Date: | 24 December 1985 | ||||||
| Birth Place: | Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Occupation: | Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX | ||||||
| Children: | 2 | ||||||
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Anna Menon is an American engineer employed by SpaceX as lead space operations and a mission director. She is scheduled to fly on Polaris Dawn, a private human spaceflight mission operated by SpaceX on behalf of Jared Isaacman. During the mission, she will serve as the onboard medical officer. Menon previously worked as a biomedical flight controller at NASA for six years, overseeing operations at the International Space Station before joining SpaceX.
Menon graduated from Texas Christian University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and spanish.[1] [2] She went on to earn a Master of Science degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 2010.[3]
Menon was also a member of the Iota Lambda chapter of Alpha Chi Omega sorority at Texas Christian University.[4]
Menon was a NASA biomedical flight controller for the International Space Station, assisting ISS crews from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and leading biomedical operations for Expedition 41[5] [6] including ISS US EVA's 27 and 28.
Menon is a Mission Director at SpaceX, where she helps with the development of human spaceflight missions and works at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. She manages the execution of Dragon manufacturing and operates as Crew Communications Operator.[7]
Menon is scheduled to fly on Polaris Dawn, a private spaceflight funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman.[8] [9] [10] [11]
Anna married Anil Menon on October 15, 2016, in a ceremony in Houston.[12] Anil is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and served as a NASA Flight Surgeon during Anna's time as a biomedical flight controller. Both would later go on to work at SpaceX, Anil as the company's Medical Director. Anil left SpaceX in 2021 when he was accepted into NASA Astronaut Group 23.[13] They have two children together, James and Grace.[14] Both she and her husband appeared in the final episode of the five-episode television documentary entitled , released on Netflix in September 2021.[15]