Anil Menon may need the world’s spaciest resume. After a number of years as a NASA flight surgeon, he turned SpaceX’s medical director in 2018, the place he authored analysis on the consequences of area on the human physique. In 2021, he was chosen as a NASA astronaut and has spent the previous a number of years coaching for his personal journey to area. Alongside the way in which, he additionally supported his spouse, Anna Menon, who traveled to area on a non-public mission in 2024 and was herself chosen as a NASA astronaut final 12 months.
Someplace within the margins, Menon has additionally served as an Air Power Reserve member and emergency room physician.
Now, he’s lastly heading to area himself. This July, Menon will journey to Kazakhstan, the place Russia’s area program conducts launches, and be a part of two cosmonauts on the subsequent mission to the Worldwide House Station. He’ll fly aboard the storied Russian Soyuz crew automobile, which has been used efficiently for many years, and is anticipated to spend eight months aboard the station.
For years, NASA and Roscosmos, Russia’s area company, have maintained the observe of putting astronauts and cosmonauts on each other’s missions. One facet impact of that association, and of the trendy area age extra broadly, is that Menon brings an unusually expansive perspective on life in area, with expertise spanning NASA, Russia’s area program, and SpaceX, in addition to a firsthand view of NASA’s distinct institutional position.
“NASA sort of bridges the hole between a few of these completely different cultures and synthesizes it,” he says. “As we take a look at the moon, everybody goes to pursue that as properly. I believe that NASA is that this nice synergy for all of that.”
Quick Firm spoke with Menon about his upcoming mission, the way forward for business area stations, and the largest unanswered questions surrounding microgravity’s results on the human physique. This interview has been edited for readability and size.
Are you able to discuss just a little bit in regards to the variations between the Soyuz and the Crew Dragon?
The Soyuz was developed for a few of the first area flights and it’s acquired this lengthy heritage tracing again to what we think about the area race. They’ve tried to maintain issues that work and simply maintain them working for high-reliability causes. A number of the computer systems and display layouts are issues which might be push-button… They work.
The identical goes for engines and a few of the seats and luxury degree. Many of the astronauts through the early Russian area program had been shorter in stature, so somebody who’s 6’1’’ like me doesn’t match as properly, however I match… It really works, and that’s the fascinating factor. The spacesuit has a rubber strain seal, and also you twist it … and then you definitely put a band round it to seal it—two bands—and that’s the way you create your seal. It isn’t a zipper. It isn’t some locking mechanism, however it works. And it’s at all times labored.
SpaceX, born on this period, is absolutely pushing the frontiers of engineering and growing issues. You’ll see extra contact shows. It’s automated process sequences….you hit a button, and also you get that process popping up for you with loads of information flowing in, as you’d see in a sci-fi film. It additionally works, and it’s a unique option to deal with the issue, and it’s acquired some benefits.
The fits: you zip them round and put them on… They give the impression of being actually cool, they usually work very well. There are different types of engines —[where] the rocket itself lands—which provides usability. I’d say it’s pushing the frontiers of the place we wish to go together with issues, which is uniquely cultural to us when it comes to the way in which we take a look at issues.
As a doctor, what do you see as the largest open questions on, like, the influence of area on the human physique? We’ve finished loads of research on by way of the Worldwide House Station, however what open questions intrigue you as we take into consideration going to the moon, and perhaps Mars?
I’ll reply that in a nebulous means and a really particular means. The extra common reply is that there’s simply a lot new stuff. We’ve been flying wholesome astronauts to area for a very long time. We’re going to be flying—and we’re beginning to fly—the entire unfold of people to area. You realize, on Inspiration 4, Hayley Arceneaux had an osteosarcoma [bone cancer]. How does that change issues? So there’s simply loads of unknown.
At this time limit, in medication, it’s not typically you see completely new ailments, however we’re seeing new issues in area. I believe sooner or later, we’ll proceed to see new issues, and that’s most likely like the largest factor.
If I had been to simply decide a particular factor for a concrete instance, we’re seeing clotting occur in area in surprising methods. You’re taking a extremely wholesome individual, put them in area, there’s three issues that improve your probability of a clot: One is damage, and that’s when your physique, like closes the wound—[and] that’s regular. The opposite is stasis, which suggests in the event you simply maintain blood in a static spot, it’s going to clot. The opposite is like some factor of hypercoagulability. If you happen to take oral contraceptives for ladies, it makes you just a little extra liable to clotting. In area, what you’re getting is stasis on some degree, so blood isn’t transferring the identical. You’re getting one cornerstone of that clotting triangle, and it simply takes just a little bit extra to see one thing else.
As you ship extra individuals up there, loads of these ailments which might be associated to that [and] you’re simply going to see extra of them. That may very well be deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, strokes, issues like that. We’ll have to determine, like, what will we do about it?
On the flip facet, is there any promise or hope that there are well being metrics that appear to enhance in area in comparison with on Earth?
You at all times see this in sci-fi, however when you’ve got disabilities on Earth, perhaps that goes away in area, proper? You don’t want your legs in area, and so you are able to do loads of issues that you simply couldn’t do on Earth, which opens up the doorways for lots of people for whom that’s a problem. And I watch sufficient sci-fi films that I’m hoping that I get a mutant gene whereas I’m up there and have some new superpower. I’m simply kidding!
We’re making ready for the subsequent era of economic area stations that may finally substitute the ISS. What do you take note of for what we might do otherwise or change?
ISS is a superb stepping stone to leverage to find out about our subsequent step. I believe the subsequent step, a business area station, can even be a stepping stone to the longer term. So what are the issues we do on ISS that we might do higher on these can be actually vital science. Enhance the throughput and make it simpler for individuals to do science. On the ISS, that’s nice, however you may at all times do issues higher.
Letting individuals do real-time suggestions on a few of the science that they’re doing there. Experimenting with issues that might open up the door to going to Mars and staying on the Moon.
Taking a look at these issues that kick off the orbital economic system, like printing and growing these manufacturing processes. They wish to make new chips up there, and that stimulates extra jobs in area and doing stuff. Specializing in the high-yield issues after which kicking them off are going to be transformative…Take into consideration all of the issues that want to enter a knowledge heart that’s in area. A few of these future stations can lean into that and assist perform or repair that know-how till it’s like one thing you can simply ship and launch.
