Entrevista con Anna Menon - Polaris Dawn

Intro fre isman for [Music] Introduccin I now Menon I cannot believe how are you nice to meet you so wonderful to meet you too thanks for having me you know I just thought um uh before I mean it's it's it's a very special um it's something very special when you are going to start an interview or a chat with someone that is about to fulfill a lifetime dream I I pinch myself to that can you believe it it's about to happen yeah it's very very hard to believe how are you how you first of all how are you feeling now um how is how are the rest of your crew mates uh are you guys ready is we are one month away uh approx from the lunch and uh can you say okay we are done we just relax or there's it it's never enough you're always like okay let's do it one more time one more time how are you guys are you still fine-tuning the mission um I I think there's a lot of emotions I think we are all really excited I I think we are really focused um we're definitely in in a really really focused mode at this point we are training and getting together really regularly we really just finished our our final big what we would call what a long simulation where we do basically we we simulate long phases of our mission and work through it together with our ground team um so we just completed one of our our final simulations this past week and so we're at this point we are really just in in refining mode and making sure we have all of our eyes dotted te's crossed and are fully you know have every little nitty-gritty detail taken care of before we get on that rocket wow are you guys in ha in California or somewhere else when we train we're in Hawthorne California we all live in four different places around the country and so the the few days that we are not together for Mission preparations we go back to our homes and see our families but then we get back together again for training in La whenever it's needed uh Anna tell us about your role in this Mission I know you're a the mission specialist medical offer tell us a little bit about what what is what is it that you want to accomplish during this like five days in orbit absolutely so I am the medical officer for our crew based on my background in biomedical engineering as well as years at Nasa working in that field then I am also with Sarah one of the two Mission Specialists on the mission and in that role I will help our crew complete our execute on our flight objectives leaning on my background in crew and ground operations at SpaceX and so you know we have a lot of ambitious objectives for this flight we are flying to the highest altitude that any human has flown since the Apollo era we are performing the first ever commercial space walk we will perform a test of starlink laser communication systems from a huan spacecraft for the first time ever and they then we will perform over approximately 40 science and research experiments in our five days on orbit and so we will have really action-packed days and so we we will be really executing on every one of those those ambitious objectives during our time on orbit and I will be helping my crew however however necessary to to execute on all of that so every every minute of the mission is like measured uh no time to spare at all pretty much yep we will we really recognize that this is you know this this is a really special opportunity we want to make sure that every minute counts and we're able to use every minute to gather data and gather information to you know expand human space space FL Technologies and and make future um Anna you studied math and then you're a biomedical engineer you you are you've done your career with your mind set to someday reach to reach to orbit or reach to space or I said okay I'm going to have a career in space or this was your dream your always was your objective to reach to reach to orbit I fell in love with space when I was in fourth grade and I went on a field trip and I got to experience a day in the life of an astronaut and a mission control flight controller and that experience just lit a fire in me to be a part of this industry I dreamed at that point I I loved the teamwork involved in space flight I loveed the technical problems that people had to solve to together and and I I dreamed I I've dreamed of flying to space but I also recognized over the years that the odds of getting to fly to space were were low and I would feel thrilled and grateful to get to contribute to this industry in any way shape or form and so as I finished my studies in math and biomedical engineering later in grad school and landed a job at Nasa I was just honestly so thrilled to get to contribute to get to do something that I love be a part of this industry used this this um this education that was really interesting to me but appli it to the space field I have been thrilled every step of the way of my career to just get to be a part of this um you know you've been with NASA seven years um SpaceX later uh you develop many of the processes uh right on SpaceX for flying um human spacecraft uh to orbit what what's the main difference uh in in training for this mission that all the all the missions before like going like okay a crew five crew six or a regular regular a mission to the to the ISS with this one that is so different we would call this a developmental Mission so when a when we are developing new technologies and getting ready to test them in flight for the first time that drives a lot of of new hardware software operations Etc development and so the whole you know the the breadth of the Dragon program and and other programs within SpaceX work together to to really put to the test these these new technologies that they're developing in order to actually fly this on this flight and so it's it's a really detailed process to get to flight for one of these developmental type missions we SpaceX has done this this type of mission before part in particular with what we call what we called our demo 2 mission um that was when we flew Bob and Doug NASA astronauts on space spx's first human space flight Mission and the leadup to that launch was very similar I it it had a lot of similarities to what I would say is my experience of the leadup to this launch there's a lot of learning that's that's constantly happening there's a lot of iteration teams are really working together across the company to to drive to the finish line and and get make the this new technology as as ready as humanly possible to fly these people to space and so it's really um it's it was neat to get to be a part of that leadup to the demo 2 flight and then it's been really fantastic to get to watch the the the minds at SpaceX prepare for this this new developmental mission of cliston does it feel weird to be on the other side now sitting one of the of the seats of crud Dragon I just feel incredibly grateful I I have loved being a part of the SpaceX team for all of these years and getting to contribute to their mission in any way possible and so I've Loved getting to be in mission control and work with the different Engineers across SpaceX and and so you know I really just feel grateful to get to be in this seat and and my goal is to learn as much as I can so that I can bring it back and use that to to I I saw Dono photos of you guys training it was a very like heart Training training if you want to if you had to mention what what was your most challenging part of the training which one which one was was there have been I have I have loved every single bit of training I have some photos here that's a good that's a good photo uh there's a lot of wonderful memories there um training has been fantastic it is really diverse it it really spans the gamut of of all sorts of different pieces of the puzzle that are required to prepare us for flight I think you know one one experience that we had in training that stands out to me is it it was more of the mental preparation side of space flight training and so one activity we did was we went to the US Air Force Academy and we skydived with their their Cadet team there and we went through their program that they used to prepare Cadets to skydive for the first time and it's the only program in the world where you Skydive your very first jump completely solo and so it's a really rigorous training program that occurs really just two days you are you get drilled in nominal contingency emergency procedures to ready your mind for anything that could happen once you get out uh of the airplane and you're put to the test before you're allowed to go up in the airplane make sure you have it all committed to memory and you execute correctly in any sort of circumstance and then you go up in that plane and you are released you you jump out of the of the plane free fall for about 10 seconds perform a series of motions get that parachute above your head navigate that back down and land safely in the drop zone and I would say that the really the emotional Arc in that experience was really profound for me it was it you know as you're sitting in the airplane going higher and higher and knowing that you're about to have to stand in that door and let go the the normal feelings of beer and butterflies came in and so I you know it was such an interesting experience to feel fear and then you get the door you let go and you go into Focus mode all of your training goes into practice immediately and there's there's no fear anymore you're just executing and you're thinking and focusing on putting into practice exactly what you've trained to do and then when you land the Elation and joy that you feel upon going through that that emotional Arc was just really beautiful and I think to me what I found so interesting about it was that it absolutely abolutely reies your brain to perform in high stress High consquence scenarios like ones that we could encounter in space flight which is our space walk um but it also I think is is a tool that you can use throughout throughout your life that sort of mental ability to feel fear move past it execute um with with extreme focus is is a really valuable skill in general in life I think and so I was really grateful for the experience with the Air Force Academy and I think learned a lot of of hand on knowledge there was it your first time skydiving it actually was not I had done a tandem skydive once before about 15 years prior you know uh when we received the the CFT crew here at Ken Space Center bch Wilmore uh he he got off of the t38 and he was commenting I I just wanted to show you here you here uh is that flying on the t38 these machines are the only way we can experience like a life dead situations on Earth so I I can imagine that Jared is mostly on the same line that's why you are like flying jets Alpha Jets or M all the time being him an instructor absolutely it's it's a great analog environment for for that that crew Resource Management when you have to work together as a team you have to use like clear concise Communications protocols you have to respond to both nominal and potentially contingency moments um and really work together as a team so I I I think NASA really has a great tool there in the t-38s that they use and we've been really happy and grateful to be able to use that similar sort of Aviation environment to to train ourselves uh what about the because I saw the photos uh you have an amazing array of Photography well thanks to our uh mutual friend JN kuss but uh but what about this you you've done you guys done an an Outreach uh incredibly everywhere um how important is this because you don't see this in many missions uh so I guess the role of educating on and evangelizing about space is is key I think it's really important and I think that you know as much as we look at this Mission as really a test bed for technologies that will help move human space flight forward and get SpaceX closer with term objectives we also see this Mission as something that is addressing the Here and Now on Earth and so one of the ways we do that is by Outreach we we love to engage with the youth and people across the world and help in you know share space flight share human space with with around us and and Society here on Earth another way that we with the Here and Now is we we one of our tenants is to raise funds and awareness for St Jude Children's Research Hospital right think that's a really important part of this mission for us too and so I think it's just really special to be able to see this Mission as something that is helping move our Collective future forward but also addressing the problems in and life here on Earth today so it's like a you are reinforcing or a doing like a continuation of inspiration for efforts to um um help to um get funds right for Sanu absolutely okay you have a let's talk about a little bit about this well this is I I I take a look at this and I don't know what to say this is incredible and you see this like a kind of a pool railing on top of the capsule and you're going to dive on the biggest pool of your life uh yeah are you guys I mean prepared for this and I understand that uh uh Jared and Sarah are going out but basically you guys are the four of you are going to be in the same conditions in know Eva conditions right you need to deep deess de depressurize the capsule Jared and Sarah are out my question I'm curious to know you are going to be inside the capsule with Scot uh do you need to be seated or can't you be floating around inside the capsule we have chosen to be seated so as leave the maximum amount of volume available for Jared and Sarah to navigate in and out of the capsule okay so is there any because I see this photo and says okay if I'm sitting there and I look up the hutch is going to be open yes can I like a can I go like a as ni a peek uh oh no no way we will make sure that they get their time to to go out get all the data back for SpaceX on the suits and the operation and we will we will support them from the inside and I understand that the mission well this is a very particular Mission we you're going to reach uh it's a very eccentric orbit in in some faces of the of the mission you're reaching 1400 kilometers and then the Eva is going to be done at 700 kilometers uh do you have any idea how long it's going to last the the Eva operation itself is about two hours start to finish and so oh includes going from the you know you've dawned your suits and you start the VAC the depressurization of the capsule the opening of The Hatch each person going out performing a series of tests then repressurizing the capsule and getting out and you you were talking on the press conference when the Eva suits were announced and uh can you hear me now I can you froze for a second oh okay I was mentioning that during the press conference that were talking about the mission and the Eva uh you mentioned that the life support systems of the suits are going to be inside crew crew Dragon right and they're going to be outside through anical can they detach a little bit from the capsule and I mean how how how much distance can they go away or they need to be always on the rail they they can get about to kind of the top of the rail or so um based on the the length of the umbilical but they won't actually detach ever because that umbilic is their life support as well as comms but even with the umbilical can they Flo float outside the capsule with the umbilical is it long enough or or is it better to get attached to the rail it's it's it will get they will be able to get about to their feet around the the top of the okay how far they can go nice uh I wonder if this you as as you you you'' been playing a key role in developing a lot of processes for in in in in in crew operations in in in SpaceX Eva Suit is this Mission going to help improve or change processes for Future Crew Dragon missions like like these suits which they are amazing they look incredible and it's it's really it's fascinating that private company can develop in such a short period of time an Eva suit uh is it something that SpaceX wants to implement in every crew mission from from now on to just uh to speak to your your speed comment I I totally agree you know two years to develop a brand new spacit is is light speed in in Aerospace terms so it's it's really a testament to the brilliant engineers at SpaceX that have been working tirelessly to to make sure that every single detail of the suit and the entire you know the entire spacecraft is ready to support the objectives of this Mission um in terms of whether you you know not every future dragon mission will fly with an Eva spacit necessarily but there is already a ton of learning that has happened across the board in the development of this Mission profile the suit but then also the just the mission architecture that is being put in put towards just general Dragon missions and so I think it's really neat to watch how you know there's all of this this learning and some of it even unanticipated learning that is occurring and and benefiting all of all of the future astronauts out there uh do you think that this like U it is fair to say that free flyer Mission like inspiration 4 and this one do you think they are like helping you uh I have this feeling that they are uh extending or pushing the boundaries of crew Dragon the first one with uh this kind of glass Dome uh and then now with an Eva uh reaching New Heights in I think it's something is useful for you in terms of then developing new process to say okay the capsule can do this and that so it is certainly these missions are certainly expanding the capability set of of what is nominally performed in Dragon at at a minimum and so know normally we are flying humans or cargo up to the International Space Station at around 400 kilometer circular orbit and it's a very um set Mission profile and so it's really been fascinating to watch SpaceX expand the envelope and see what the the dragon spacecraft can do but also you know this isn't just for the dragon spacecraft future a lot of what the learning that's happening here can be applied to spacex's future endeavors with Starship and and other missions that se to accomplish one day uh you know I had a going back to the uh experiments and and being you the medical office officer of the mission I had a chance to talk to uh someone from Trish uh before the ax1 mission and he was explaining to me how important these commercial missions are are from inspiration 4 to ax1 to Commercial missions expand uh the the the number of the sample of the diversity of the sample to understand human be behavior in space and I guess you as a med a biological engineer uh would cheer for it for it as well absolutely I think the the increase in the data set size that we are able to achieve through these additional commercial missions as well as the um just the diversity of that population and then you know the access to the data that is being afforded by all of the different research that's being performed on all on these missions there are there is a a basic basically home for this data that all of this all the data that's that's being collected on these missions is going towards post so that researchers around the world with appropriate need can access it and learn more rapidly and and I just think that the the implications for that the benefits of that really fantastic and can hopefully help get us closer to our our dreams of bringing people to Mars Etc someday faster and solving the number of problems especially like human physiological challenges that are out there to get us there I could even imagine with Starship that would be incredible it will be it incredible Kisses from Space let's talk about this because I know you you uh launched this book uh like like a week ago I guess 10 10 days ago and uh you have kids you've been telling stories to to them but that tell us about the history behind it absolutely so kisss from space is a book that I co-authored with Carrie vosik and it was beautifully illustrated by Andy harness and it is the story of a mama dragon as she Journeys in trains forign Journeys to space and she shares that Journey with her baby dragons back here on Earth and it is the story of how can overcome any distance I had the idea to write this story several years ago when I first learned that I was going to fly on this Mission and was seeking ways to connect with my kids while I was on this this longest commute ever of my life I my husband and I for years as we both traveled to SpaceX and worked there and we would take our kids to to the daycare near there we would tell them stories and we would tell them stories one of the storylines was the storyline of a family of dragons and so as I realized and it was this just this wonderful connection point for our family is that we were apart for our days and so then when I realized I was going on this furthest Comm ever it became very clear quickly that this journey called for a a story of a family of dragons and so I decided to write the story and am really excited to be able to connect with my kids back here on Earth as I read it to them as well as some of of the Brave patients from St Jude Children's Research Hospital from orbit uh maybe they I don't think they can believe that uh their mom is getting to space finally I think they're very excited they're very excited do they are are they applying already for NASA astronaut because I mean I how many kids you have two yeah two kids okay so so Mom is an astronaut that is going to be an astronaut so I mean do they have any choice uh they have lots of choice I want them to figure out what they love in this world and pursue that and they are honestly quite clear that space is probably not it my son is dreams right now of being being a paleontologist um so really excited to watch as they figure out what they love in this world and try to support them in every way we can nice uh you know I before the interview I asked uh the Spanish speaking Community to uh okay I'm going to record an interview with Anna send me some questions so I I chose two of them so if you don't mind uh here they are the okay the first one says it's Damian Santos that says Okay I I Interview I'm going to translat it okay uh I would like to know um I know that her professional career was always linked to space uh she worked with NASA and SpaceX have you ever imagined uh having the opportunity to go from a flight controller or biomedical flight controller or Mission director to a be part of a crew you know I I never really I dreamed of going to space but I I thought that the odds were extremely low and and knew that the odds were extremely low um so I am beyond thrilled was completely surprised when I found out that I would be on this flight and am just incredibly grateful grateful to be here but hope that it is the the you know just beginning of more and more people getting access to space I I think there's a really exciting future ahead for for Humanity okay thank you on question number two I think you already we already discussed this it says DDT or Oscar DDT says okay in the images presented you could see uh this railing on the top of the hatch but you you don't see any Railing at all uh in any other part of the capsule so I wonder the question is is the Eva going to be like in the Porsche of a crew dragon and that's it or any anywhere else this that general area that you see there will be where the the EV occurs really because we are able to get all of the data we need from that environment we can get the great information on this performance we get great information on the operation performance um and you know get everything we need so that we can do iterations for the the future Evas that SpaceX will tackle nice so now my last question are you oh no but I cannot do my you know I always to every time I do an interview my last question is if that person is given the chance to go to space if he he or she could take it but in your case it's impossible but wait I have another I have another question okay uh okay um is it true that you really enjoy dancing salsa I do I do I so my second major in college was Spanish actually and in college I studied in Spain for about six months so I lived over in seevilla and while I was there I lived with a Spanish family and very early one of the first weeks over there um the my mom there she dropped me off at a a span salsa class that was entirely taught in in Spanish and so I quickly learned Spanish by doing that class but also fell in love with salsa dancing and danced my entire time living there and then since then I have kept it up danced on a in graduate school and absolutely love the dance my husband you still do it first my our first wedding dance was a salsa dance so no way yeah do you do you still practice that salsa I I do I it's certainly not with the same frequency as I did when I was younger and didn't have kids uh but I even just recently my husband and I went out dancing so it was it was something that's very very much by me Anna thank you so much I know you're super busy along with your crew mates uh and and I think it was great to have the chance to connect with the SP speaking Community you know there's a you won't believe it but there's a huge amount of space space funds across Latin America from Mexico to Argentina uh Spain Europe and with a incredible amount of knowledge even technical knowledge about space programs so I know that you're they're going to enjoy and cheer for for you and the mission so thank you so much thank you so much I really really enjoyed our conversation thank you bye Anna bye [Music]