NASA’s Artemis II crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on August 28, 2026, at the Johnson Space Center. President Donald Trump will present the highest US space award following their record-breaking 10-day lunar flyby mission.
Artemis II Astronauts Set for Congressional Space Medal of Honor
The four astronauts who completed the historic Artemis II lunar flyby mission are scheduled to receive the United States’ highest space honor. President Donald J. Trump will award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony on August 28, 2026, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman recommended the crew for the distinction, which President Trump then approved. The accolade places the four travelers into an exclusive group. According to federal space records, only 30 individuals have previously earned the medal, including Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later served four terms in the US Senate.
Record-Breaking Lunar Journey and Deep-Space Milestones
The upcoming award follows a 10-day test flight that pushed human spaceflight boundaries further than they had reached in more than half a century. Launched on April 1 aboard a Space Launch System rocket producing 8.8 million pounds of thrust from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew tested Orion spacecraft systems in deep space before swinging around the Moon.
At their farthest point from Earth, the crew reached 252,756 miles, eclipsing the previous human spaceflight distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. During the mission, Jeremy Hansen also made history as the first non-US citizen to travel to the Moon.
“Before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth. And when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”
Cmdr Reid Wiseman, via The Guardian
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted that the crew members accepted significant risk while testing life-support and manual piloting systems designed to carry future explorers deeper into the solar system. The mission concluded on April 10 when Orion re-entered the atmosphere at roughly 25,000 mph, splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean off California.
Legacy of the Congressional Space Medal
Authorized by Congress in 1969, the medal recognizes astronauts who distinguish themselves through exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and mankind in the hostile environment of space. Past recipients include crews lost in the Apollo 1 fire and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
The most recent previous recipients were Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who flew the first commercial crewed orbital test flight in 2020 and received their medals in 2023 during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The August 28 ceremony in Houston will be streamed live across multiple NASA platforms, following an earlier White House reception hosted by President Trump four months prior.
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