August 29, 2026 — President Donald J. Trump on Friday presented the four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, recognizing their historic crewed journey around the Moon and the record-breaking distance they achieved during the mission.
The ceremony took place August 28 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Trump honored NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, together with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. NASA and the White House both confirmed the presentation.
The honor followed Artemis II's successful 10-day lunar mission, which launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1 and returned to Earth on April 10. The mission was the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program and the first human journey around the Moon in more than half a century.
During the April 6 lunar flyby, the Artemis II crew surpassed the previous human-spaceflight distance record established by the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970. Orion ultimately reached approximately 252,756 miles (406,740 kilometers) from Earth, making Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen the humans who have traveled farther from Earth than anyone before them.
The spacecraft also passed approximately 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at its closest approach. From the Moon's vicinity, the astronauts photographed the lunar surface, observed the far side of the Moon and witnessed a solar eclipse. NASA reported that the crew captured more than 7,000 images during the lunar flyby.
Artemis II was more than a record-setting expedition. The mission served as a crewed test of NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket, while astronauts evaluated life-support systems, navigation, communications, manual piloting and other capabilities needed for future human missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is one of the highest U.S. honors specifically recognizing achievement in human spaceflight. NASA describes it as an award for astronauts whose performance in space represents exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and humanity.
The recognition also carries international significance. Hansen is a Canadian astronaut, making Artemis II a U.S.-Canadian partnership as well as a milestone for NASA's Artemis program.
The White House confirmed the August 28 ceremony, while NASA separately reported that Trump presented the medal to all four members of the Artemis II crew at Johnson Space Center.
The astronauts' achievement now forms a major foundation for the next phase of NASA's lunar exploration effort. Following Artemis II, NASA and its partners are preparing for subsequent Artemis missions intended to advance human operations around and eventually on the Moon.
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