Anil Menon, a 45-year-old Indian-origin doctor and a lieutenant colonel at the US Air Force, is among the 10 new astronaut candidates chosen by NASA to represent the United States and work for the space agency’s future missions.

In a statement on Tuesday, NASA announced that it has chosen 10 new astronaut candidates from over 12,000 applicants to represent the US and work for humanity’s benefit in space. Applicants included US citizens from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

“Today we welcome 10 new explorers, 10 members of the Artemis generation, NASA’s 2021 astronaut candidate class. Alone, each candidate has ‘the right stuff,’ but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum – out of many, one,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said while introducing the members of the 2021 astronaut class during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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The astronaut candidates will report for duty in January 2022 to begin two years of training.

Meanwhile, the astronaut candidate training falls into five major categories: operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and Russian language skills. Upon completion, the candidates could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the space station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

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“Each of you has amazing backgrounds. You bring diversity in so many forms to our astronaut corps and you stepped up to one of the highest and most exciting forms of public service,” Pam Melroy, former NASA astronaut and NASA’s deputy administrator, told the candidates.