Artemis II crew to receive top US space medal for historic lunar journey
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The four astronauts who flew on NASA's Artemis II lunar flyby mission will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the US space agency has announced.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are scheduled to receive the medal on August 28 at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
According to NASA, only 30 astronauts have previously received the honour, including Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, and John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit Earth.
The Artemis II crew was selected for the medal by US President Donald Trump after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recommended them.
During their 10-day mission, which began on April 1, the astronauts travelled 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth while flying around the Moon. They surpassed the Apollo 13 crew's record of 248,655 miles set in 1970, establishing a new record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from Earth.
Hansen, a Canadian, also became the first non-US citizen to travel to the Moon.
Artemis II is part of NASA's effort to return astronauts to the lunar surface and eventually support crewed missions to Mars.
The medal ceremony will take place four months after Trump hosted the Artemis II crew at the White House. NASA has listed an 11 am start time for the ceremony and will livestream the event.
The recognition comes as Trump's administration has proposed cutting NASA's overall budget by 23% for fiscal 2027, including a 46% reduction in space science funding. A House subcommittee has advanced a separate proposal that would maintain several science programmes targeted for cuts.
The previous astronauts selected for the Congressional Space Medal of Honor were Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who became the first astronauts to launch into orbit aboard a commercial spacecraft in 2020. They received the medal in 2023.