This NASA astronaut has spent years shaping the future of spaceflight. Now he’s finally heading to orbit

Anil Menon might have the world’s spaciest resume. After several years as a NASA flight surgeon, he became Space X’s medical director in 2018, where he authored research on the effects of space on the human body. In 2021, he was selected as a NASA astronaut and has spent the past several years training for his own journey to space. Along the way, he also supported his wife, Anna Menon, who traveled to space on a private mission in 2024 and was herself selected as a NASA astronaut last year. Somewhere in the margins, Menon has also served as an Air Force Reserve member and emergency room doctor. Now, he’s finally heading to space himself. This July, Menon will travel to Kazakhstan, where Russia’s space program conducts launches, and join two cosmonauts on the next mission to the International Space Station. He’ll fly aboard the storied Russian Soyuz crew vehicle, which has been used successfully for decades, and is expected to spend eight months aboard the station. For years, NASA and Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, have maintained the practice of placing astronauts and cosmonauts on one another’s missions. One side effect of that arrangement, and of the modern space age more broadly, is that Menon brings an unusually expansive perspective on life in space, with experience spanning NASA, Russia’s space program, and SpaceX, as well as a firsthand view of NASA’s distinct institutional role. “NASA kind of bridges the gap between some of these different cultures and synthesizes it,” he says. “As we look at the moon, everyone is going to pursue that as well. I think that NASA is this great synergy for all of that.” Fast Company spoke with Menon about his upcoming mission, the future of commercial space stations, and the biggest unanswered questions surrounding microgravity’s effects on the human body. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Can you talk a little bit about the differences between the Soyuz and the Crew Dragon? The Soyuz was developed for so