Artemis II Crew to Get Top Space Honor

The update

President Donald Trump will award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission on Friday, Aug. 28, at 11 a.m. EDT. The ceremony will take place at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The recipients are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. This honor recognizes their 10-day mission around the moon, which was the first crewed voyage beyond low Earth orbit since 1972.

Why it matters

This ceremony marks a significant milestone for the Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. The Artemis II mission proved the Orion spacecraft’s capabilities and paved the way for future lunar landings. The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is the highest award the U.S. government can bestow upon an astronaut, signifying the national importance of their achievement.

What to watch

Observers should note the live stream of the ceremony and the potential announcements regarding the next steps in the Artemis program. The event will be streamed on various platforms, and limited media credentialing is available for those interested in covering the event in person.

Sources

• space.com — Context on the mission's significance and the history of lunar missions.
• nasa.gov — Award details, ceremony time and location, crew members, mission duration.