Indian-Origin NASA Astronaut Dr Anil Menon Reveals Astronauts In Space Love Indian Food
Anil Menon is among NASA's 10 new astronauts who could fly to the Moon someday.
SpaceX¡¯s first flight surgeon, Indian-origin Dr Anil Menon is among the new recruits who will report for duty in January 2022 for NASA¡¯s 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class which will train for the agency¡¯s future missions.
45-year-old Menon born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Ukrainian and Indian immigrant parents, has previously served NASA as the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions on the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA
A lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, Menon is married to Anna Menon who works at SpaceX, and they share two children.
Menon spoke about his Indian roots and his love for spice as well. He revealed to the Indian Express that for most astronauts, Indian food was the top pick in space because of its spices.
¡°When people are in space, food tastes different because your nose gets stuffy because the fluid starts floating up there. So I have heard from a lot of astronauts that Indian food is their favourite food because it¡¯s spicier. It¡¯s a medical fact."
Introducing the 2021 class of NASA Astronaut candidates. They'll begin training here in Houston in January. pic.twitter.com/8RsKwXUexH
¡ª NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) December 6, 2021
He also added that he loves Kerala since that is where his father is from, and he recently took his wife to visit God¡¯s own country. ¡°Kerala has a special spot in my heart. The people are so welcoming. They are so warm and inviting. Spending time in India really helped set me up for this job, because it is those same skills that I¡¯ll need to apply as an astronaut in the future," he told Indian Express.
Menon was the first responder during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a physician in the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and the 2011 Reno Air Show accident. In the Air Force, Menon supported the 45th Space Wing as a flight surgeon and the 173rd Fighter Wing, where he logged over 100 sorties in the F-15 fighter jet and transported over 100 patients as part of the critical care air transport team.
Anil Menon is a medical director at @SpaceX and is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/n86FaYl2eq
¡ª NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) December 6, 2021
What a proud moment.
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