Anil Menon–a 45-year-old Indian-origin physician, lieutenant colonel of the US Air Force and flight surgeon on SpaceX–has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for its upcoming missions. He is one of 10 people to be selected from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants. Menon will now complete two years of initial astronaut training as a NASA astronaut candidate where he will be trained in five major areas—operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s complex systems, spacewalks, operating a T-38 training jet, developing complex robotics skills and Russian language skills.