Guardian astronaut brings operational medicine experience to ISS mission

Published July 14, 2026
By Staff Sgt. Emmeline James
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) --

An official NASA portrait of Expedition 75 Astronaut Anil Menon in Washington, D.C., January 8, 2026. Menon is serving as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during his first mission to space. (U.S. Space Force photo by Robert Markowitz) — An official NASA portrait of Expedition 75 Astronaut Anil Menon in Washington, D.C., January 8, 2026. Menon is serving as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during his first mission to space. (Courtesy photo by Robert Markowitz/NASA)

U.S. Space Force Col. Anil Menon launched aboard NASA’s Expedition 75 mission to the International Space Station, bringing with him a career shaped by operational medicine, military service and human spaceflight support.

Menon is serving as a flight engineer aboard the ISS during his first mission to space, marking another milestone in the growing relationship between NASA and the Space Force as Guardians continue supporting the nation’s expanding role in the space domain.

“The mission I'm flying is fundamentally a space mission, so it felt right for the uniform to match the work,” Menon said. “The Space Force is where the future of operating in this domain lives, and I wanted to be part of building it from the inside.”

A former Air Force officer who transferred to the Space Force in 2026, Menon said the move also reflects the long-standing relationship between military space operations and NASA human spaceflight missions.

“The Air Force has supported NASA going back to Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, and the Space Force carries that legacy forward,” he said. “Becoming a Guardian was a way to honor where I came from while leaning fully into where space is going.”

Before becoming an astronaut, Menon worked across emergency medicine, aerospace medicine and operational astronaut support, experiences he said continue shaping the way he approaches spaceflight and crew performance.

“Medicine teaches you to think in systems and to plan for what can go wrong before it does,” Menon said. “In emergency departments you learn to make decisions with incomplete information and to do it calmly because the team is reading you. That translates almost directly to spaceflight operations.”

U.S. Space Force Col. Anil Menon participates in 75S Emergency Scene Training with his fellow Expedition 75 crewmembers in Washington, D.C., March 03, 2025. Menon is serving as a flight engineer aboard the ISS during his first mission to space. (U.S. Space Force photo by Josh Valcarcel) — U.S. Space Force Col. Anil Menon participates in 75S Emergency Scene Training with his fellow Expedition 75 crewmembers in Washington, D.C., March 03, 2025. Menon is serving as a flight engineer aboard the ISS during his first mission to space. (Courtesy photo by Josh Valcarcel/NASA)

Menon said his medical background also reinforces the importance of the human element in long-duration space operations.

“The technology only works if the people do,” he said. “You can build the most capable spacecraft in the world, but performance still comes down to a small team making good decisions under fatigue, isolation and risk.”

As flight engineer aboard the ISS, Menon supports spacecraft systems, maintenance operations, robotic activities, dockings and scientific research while also serving as the crew’s on-orbit medical officer.

“A flight engineer is essentially the crew’s hands on the vehicle,” Menon said. “The ISS runs hundreds of experiments at any given time, and we serve as the test subjects, the lab techs and the operators.”

Menon said the scientific mission aboard the station is one of the aspects he looks forward to most.

“The ISS is the most remarkable laboratory humans have ever built,” he said. “Microgravity unlocks experiments you can't run anywhere else — protein crystals, cell biology, fluid physics, materials science, human research that will eventually let us go to the Moon and Mars safely.”

The mission also highlights the operational partnerships supporting the broader space enterprise, including NASA, the Space Force, commercial industry and international teammates.

“Human spaceflight is a piece of a much bigger picture, and the Space Force is a huge part of that picture,” Menon said, highlighting the service's critical role in supporting launch operations, range safety, and space domain awareness.

An official photo of Col. Anil Menon in Washington, D.C., January 8, 2026. Menon is serving as a flight engineer aboard the ISS during his first mission to space. (Courtesy photo by James Blair/NASA)

Menon added that the operational mindset Guardians bring to space missions will become increasingly important as human spaceflight missions grow longer and more autonomous.

“Military experience builds habits that map well to spaceflight: clear communication, rehearsed procedures, mission-first culture and comfort with risk that's been thoughtfully managed,” he said. “As human missions get longer and farther from Earth, those habits will matter more, not less.”

For Menon, the opportunity to launch as one of the first Guardians into space also carries responsibility.

“It's a chance to set a tone for what comes after,” he said. “I want to represent the Space Force the way the Space Force deserves to be represented — competent, humble, collaborative and focused on the mission.”

As the mission continues aboard the ISS, Menon said he hopes Guardians across the force recognize the impact their work has on missions far beyond Earth.

“Your work matters, and it reaches farther than you probably realize,” he said. “Every Guardian operating a satellite, defending a network, planning a launch, or training the next generation is part of why a mission like this is even possible.”

“This is the most exciting time to be in the space domain,” Menon added. “Everything is scaling up at such a rapid pace that the sky is no longer the limit; it’s much bigger than that.”