Get you up to speed: Trump to honor Artemis II crew with nation’s top space medal
President Trump will award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission on August 28 at Joint Reserve Base Ellington in Houston. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who successfully completed a 10-day mission around the moon and returned safely on April 10.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor will be presented to the Artemis II mission crew on August 28 at Joint Reserve Base Ellington in Houston. Only 30 astronauts have received this honour to date, with the last recipients being Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, awarded in 2023.
President Trump is set to present the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the Artemis II mission crew on August 28 at Joint Reserve Base Ellington in Houston. This medal, awarded by the president on NASA’s recommendation, is presented to astronauts who have made exceptional contributions to national and global welfare; it has been awarded sparingly, with only 30 astronauts receiving it since its inception.
What remains unclear — The specific criteria that led to the selection of the Artemis II crew for the medal have not been disclosed.
Trump to award Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II crew
President Trump plans to award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission, WTX US News has learned.
A White House official confirmed the award will be presented Friday, Aug. 28, at Joint Reserve Base Ellington in Houston.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, became the first humans to travel around the moon in more than a half-century during a 10-day mission. They splashed down safely to end the record-breaking flight on April 10.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images 
Only 30 astronauts have received the medal, including Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, according to NASA. Astronauts killed in the Apollo 1 fire and the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters received the medal posthumously.
The last astronauts awarded the medal were Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who in 2020 became the first to launch to orbit on a commercial spacecraft. President Joe Biden awarded them the medal in 2023.
Despite its name, the medal is awarded by the president based on recommendations from the NASA administrator. Congress has authorized the president to present, in the name of Congress, a medal to any astronaut who has “distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and of mankind,” according to NASA.