HOUSTON — President Donald Trump is honoring the four astronauts who carried America back into deep space, presenting the Artemis II crew with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are receiving the medal following their historic journey around the Moon earlier this year. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is joining Trump and the astronauts for the ceremony.
The ceremony was scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT on August 28 at Johnson Space Center. NASA announced that all four members of the crew would receive the medal individually.
Recognition After a Historic Journey Around the Moon
Artemis II launched in April with Wiseman serving as commander, Glover as pilot, and Koch and Hansen as mission specialists. The mission carried the four astronauts around the Moon aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft before returning them safely to Earth.
It represented the first time humans had traveled beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The astronauts also traveled farther from Earth than any humans before them, making Artemis II a milestone not only for NASA’s return-to-the-Moon program but for the history of human spaceflight.
The crew did not land on the Moon. Artemis II was designed as the first crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and the larger systems NASA intends to use as it develops a sustained human presence around and eventually on the lunar surface.
The flight also made history through its crew. Glover became the first Black person to travel around the Moon, Koch became the first woman to do so, and Hansen became the first Canadian to make the journey.
One of America’s Rarest Space Honors
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is not a routine NASA award. Congress authorized it in 1969, and the president presents it in the name of Congress to astronauts whose performance demonstrates exceptionally meritorious contributions to the United States and humanity.
Only 30 astronauts had received the medal before the Artemis II ceremony. Previous recipients include some of the most important figures in American space history, including Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Alan Shepard and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell. The astronauts killed in the Challenger and Columbia disasters were also awarded the medal.
The Artemis II crew now joins that select group.
Trump Ties His Presidency to America’s Return to Deep Space
The Houston ceremony also highlights Trump’s longstanding emphasis on American space exploration. During his first administration, the United States established the Artemis program’s drive toward returning astronauts to the Moon, while Trump also signed legislation creating the U.S. Space Force.
Trump has continued emphasizing the Moon and Mars during his second administration. He previously met the Artemis II astronauts at the White House following their return and praised them as modern-day pioneers.
The president’s appearance at Johnson Space Center puts that message directly inside one of the centers of America’s human-spaceflight program.
Artemis II demonstrated that humans could once again leave Earth orbit, travel around the Moon and safely return. The next stages of Artemis are intended to build upon that achievement as NASA works toward renewed human operations on and around the lunar surface.
For Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen, Friday’s ceremony represents official recognition at the highest level: four astronauts who left Earth together, traveled farther into space than any previous human crew and returned home are being placed among the recipients of America’s highest honor for astronauts.
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By M. Bell, Staff Reporter contributed to this report.
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