NASA’s New Astronaut Class Includes SpaceX Veterans Anna Menon And Yuri Kubo
NASA’s new astronaut class includes SpaceX veterans Anna Menon and Yuri Kubo, marking another milestone in the growing crossover between commercial space and government exploration. The 2025 class highlights how talent from private spaceflight companies is shaping NASA’s future missions.
Image Credits:NASA
From SpaceX To NASA: Anna Menon’s Journey
Anna Menon began her career at NASA in the Mission Control Center, where she supported astronauts’ health and safety. She later joined SpaceX in 2018, becoming a senior engineer who worked on private astronaut missions.
Her most notable achievement came with the Polaris Dawn mission, where she served as a mission specialist and medical officer. That flight broke records with the first commercial spacewalk, showcasing the merging of private and government-led space exploration.
Yuri Kubo: From Launch Director To Astronaut Candidate
Yuri Kubo’s career at SpaceX spanned 12 years, where she served as a Falcon 9 launch director and held senior positions on the Starshield program and ground systems. Her leadership and technical expertise earned her a place in NASA’s 2025 astronaut class, underlining the importance of commercial experience in shaping future missions.
A Highly Competitive Class Of 2025
NASA’s latest astronaut class includes 10 candidates selected from over 8,000 applicants worldwide. Training is expected to last nearly two years, covering robotics, geology, foreign languages, space medicine, simulated spacewalks, and flight operations.
Once training is complete, this group will join NASA’s 40+ active astronauts and prepare for missions to the International Space Station (ISS), commercial space stations, and potentially the Moon and Mars under future Artemis missions.
SpaceX Alumni In NASA’s Ranks
This is not the first time former SpaceX employees have entered NASA’s astronaut corps.
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In 2017, Robb Kulin, SpaceX’s director of flight reliability, joined NASA’s class of astronaut candidates.
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In 2021, Anil Menon, SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, was selected for the Artemis program. (Notably, Anil is married to Anna Menon.)
These selections highlight how commercial space companies like SpaceX are becoming vital pipelines for astronaut talent.
Why This Matters For NASA’s Future
The addition of Anna Menon and Yuri Kubo reflects a broader trend: NASA increasingly relies on commercial expertise as it prepares for the ISS retirement in 2030 and the rise of private space stations. With missions to the Moon and Mars on the horizon, the blend of SpaceX experience and NASA training creates a powerful foundation for the next generation of explorers.
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