President Donald Trump will award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four-person crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission, according to a White House official. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday, Aug. 28, at Joint Reserve Base Ellington in Houston.
The award follows the completion of the Artemis II mission, which ended on April 10 when the crew safely splashed down. The mission lasted 10 days and marked the first time humans had traveled around the moon in more than 50 years. The crew members include NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest award for space flight. According to NASA, it is awarded by the president based on recommendations from the NASA administrator to astronauts who have distinguished themselves through "exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and of mankind." Only 30 astronauts have received the honor previously, including Neil Armstrong and John Glenn.
The most recent recipients of the medal were Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who were honored in 2023 by President Joe Biden for their roles in the first commercial spacecraft launch to orbit in 2020. Other past recipients include the crews of the Apollo 1 fire and the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters, who were awarded the medal posthumously.
A person following space policy or employment at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) would notice this as a formal validation of the Artemis program’s first crewed milestone. For the general public, the ceremony on Aug. 28 serves as the official conclusion to the 10-day mission that occurred earlier in the year. The inclusion of a Canadian Space Agency astronaut also highlights the international nature of current lunar exploration agreements.
The award sets a precedent for how future Artemis mission crews may be recognized as NASA moves toward its goal of returning humans to the lunar surface. By awarding the medal shortly after the mission's completion, the administration continues the practice of using the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to mark significant firsts in spaceflight technology and exploration. The next step is the formal presentation at the Houston base on Aug. 28.