Anna Menon (American Astronaut) Age, Biography, Family

Quick Info

Profession	Astronaut, Space Operations Engineer
Nationality	American
Date of Birth	24/12/1985
Age	40 years
Birthplace	Houston, Texas

Latest News about Anna Menon

22/09/2025

NASA selected Anna Menon for its 2025 astronaut candidate class and she reported for duty at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Her selection was notable because she had already flown to space on Polaris Dawn, making her one of the first astronaut candidates with prior orbital spaceflight experience.

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Bio/Wiki

Full Name	Anna Wilhelm Menon

Physical Stats & More

Height	165 cm
Eye Color	Light Brown
Hair Color	Medium Blonde

Educational Qualification(s)

Polaris Program	Degree: Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Spanish University: Texas Christian University, Texas, US Degree: Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering University: Duke University, North Carolina, US Degree: Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Spanish University: Texas Christian University, Texas, US Year: 2008 Degree: Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering University: Duke University, North Carolina, US Year: 2010

Polaris Program

Degree: Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Spanish University: Texas Christian University, Texas, US
Degree: Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering University: Duke University, North Carolina, US
Degree: Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Spanish University: Texas Christian University, Texas, US Year: 2008
Degree: Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering University: Duke University, North Carolina, US Year: 2010

Personal Life

Hobbies	Hiking Flying Small Aeroplanes Doing Salsa Dance

Relationships & More

Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	15/10/2016
Marriage Place	St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 5501 Main St at Houston, TX 77004

Family

Father	Chandler Wilhelm
Mother	Laura Wilhelm
Siblings	Alex Wilhelm Rachel Wilhelm
Spouse	Anil Menon
Children	James Menon (born in 2018) Grace Elizabeth Menon (born in 2020)

Career

NASA

Biomedical Flight Controller
SpaceX Space Operations Engineer
Astronaut Candidate (selected September 2025)

SpaceX

Position

Lead Space Operations Engineer, Mission Director

Responsibilities

Development of crew operations
Mission control center supervision
Crew communicator role development
Crew communicator (CORE) role development
Formulating emergency response protocols

Dragon spacecraft

Details	Capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit
Notable Missions	Demo-2 Crew-1 CRS-22 CRS-23 Crew-3 Crew-4 Axiom-1

Other Accomplishments

Operational Responses	Cabin depressurisation Emergency situations like fire

Spaceflights

Mission: Polaris Dawn Position: Mission Specialist, Medical Officer Launch Date: 10/09/2024 Duration: 4d 22h 14m Spacewalks: 1 Spacewalk Time: 0d 1h 46m

Social Media

Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/annawmenon/

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Showed an early passion for astronomy.
2. Selected to join the crew of SpaceX's 'Polaris Dawn' mission in 2022.
3. Participated in providing aid during the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
4. Co-authored and read the children's book 'Kisses From Space' to her children and patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital from orbit during Polaris Dawn.
5. Her dream of flying to space began in fourth grade when her teacher Alison Smith Balch, daughter of Space Shuttle Challenger pilot Michael J. Smith, took her on an immersive field trip at NASA.
6. Earned parachute jump wings with the U.S. Air Force Academy, summited Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, and participated in scuba diving as preflight training.

Anna Menon Astronaut, Space Operations Engineer American Houston, Texas