Indian-origin US Army doctor among 10 chosen by NASA as astronauts for future missions

Indianorigin physician Anil Menon a lieutenant colonel at the US Air Force has been selected by NASA along with nine others to be astronauts for future missions the American space agency has announcedMenon 45 was born and raised in Minneapolis Minnesota to Ukrainian and Indian immigrantsHe was SpaceXs first flight surgeon helping to launch the companys first humans to space during NASAs SpaceX Demo2 mission and building a medical organisation to support the human system during future missionsIn a statement NASA announced that it has chosen 10 new astronaut candidates from a field of more than 12000 applicants to represent the US and work for humanitys benefit in spaceNASA Administrator Bill Nelson introduced the members of the 2021 astronaut class the first new class in four years during a Monday December 6 event at Ellington Field near NASAs Johnson Space Center in HoustonldquoToday we welcome 10 new explorers 10 members of the Artemis generation NASAs 2021 astronaut candidate classrdquo Nelson saidldquoAlone each candidate has lsquothe right stuff but together they represent the creed of our country E pluribus unum ndash out of many onerdquo he saidThe astronaut candidates will report for duty at Johnson in January 2022 to begin two years of trainingAstronaut candidate training falls into five major categories operating and maintaining the International Space Stations complex systems training for spacewalks developing complex robotics skills safely operating a T38 training jet and Russian language skillsUpon completion they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the space station launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASAs Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocketldquoEach of you has amazing backgroundsrdquo Pam Melroy former NASA astronaut and NASAs deputy administrator told the candidates ldquoYou bring diversity in so many forms to our astronaut corps and you stepped up to one of the highest and most exciting forms of public servicerdquoApplicants included US citizens from all 50 states the District of Columbia and US territories Puerto Rico Guam the Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana IslandsFor the first time ever NASA required candidates to hold a masters degree in a STEM field and used an online assessment tool The women and men selected for the new astronaut class represent the diversity of America and the career paths that can lead to a place in Americas astronaut corpsMenon previously served NASA as the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions taking astronauts to the International Space StationHe is an actively practicing emergency medicine physician with fellowship training in wilderness and aerospace medicineAs a physician he was a first responder during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti 2015 earthquake in Nepal and the 2011 Reno Air Show accidentIn 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 F15 fighter jet and transported over 100 patients as part of the critical care air transport teamThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever