NASA picks Indian origin doctor for future astronauts mission

NASA class of 2021 for future astronauts has an Indian connect.

Indian-origin physician Anil Menon has been selected by NASA along with nine others to be astronauts for future missions.

A lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, 45-year-old Menon was born and raised in Minneapolis. His parents are Ukrainian and Indian immigrants.

He was SpaceX's first flight surgeon, helping to launch the company's first humans to space during NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Menon also helped build a medical organisation to support the human system during future missions.

In a statement, NASA announced that it has chosen 10 new astronaut candidates from a field of more than 12,000 applicants to represent the US and work for humanity's benefit in space.

NASA 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 NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Also watch: What's the Indian connect to new crew at International Space Station

"Today we welcome 10 new explorers, 10 members of the Artemis generation, NASA''s 2021 astronaut candidate class," Nelson said.

"Alone, each candidate has 'the right stuff,'' but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum - out of many, one," he said.

The astronaut candidates will report for duty at Johnson Space Center in Houston in January 2022 to begin two years of training.

Astronaut candidate training falls into five major categories: operating and maintaining the International Space Station''s complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and Russian language skills.