SpaceX engineer Anna Menon, part of the groundbreaking Polaris Dawn mission, is set to make history as one of the first non-professional astronauts to participate in a spacewalk. The mission, which launched on September 10, is led by billionaire Jared Isaacman and aims to send an all-civilian crew into one of the highest radiation zones in space.
Menon, along with retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, will attempt to reach a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth, the highest for a crewed mission since the Apollo era. The mission’s key feature will be the spacewalk, expected to take place on September 12, during which two crew members will don SpaceX’s newly developed extravehicular activity (EVA) suits.
As a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX, Menon is responsible for managing crew operations development and has been integral to creating new roles and responses for mission control. Menon’s journey to this mission includes seven years as a biomedical flight controller at NASA, where she worked with the International Space Station.
The mission also serves as a platform for research, with the crew set to test laser-based satellite communications and conduct 36 scientific experiments. The Polaris Dawn mission marks the first in a series of missions aimed at advancing human space exploration under a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX.
“Polaris Dawn is about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space,” said Isaacman, who has collaborated with SpaceX on this mission.
