Artemis II crew to receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Friday

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be honored.

August 28, 2026, 9:28 AM

The Artemis II crew will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday.

President Donald Trump and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman are scheduled to present the award to NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen during a ceremony that begins at 11 a.m. ET.

PHOTO: Artemis II crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen listenas President Donald Trump speaks an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, July 4, 2026, in Washington.
Artemis II crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen listen as President Donald Trump speaks an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, July 4, 2026, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

The crew completed a 10-day mission around the moon in April, breaking a distance record for the farthest humans have ever traveled in space. It was the first human spaceflight back to the moon in more than 50 years. 

The event will be streamed on NASA+ and the space agency's social media platforms.

Congress authorized the Space Medal of Honor in 1969.

"The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a medal of appropriate design, which shall be known as the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, to any astronaut who in the performance of his duties has distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and of mankind," the text of the law says.

Astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon, April 4, 2026.
NASA via Getty Images

In 1978, the first recipients of the honor included Neil Armstrong, Frank Borman, Pete Conrad, John Glenn, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Alan Shepard.

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