The four astronauts who recently flew around the Moon and shattered humanity's deep-space distance record are set to receive the highest space honor in the United States.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on August 28 during a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Selected by President Donald Trump following a recommendation from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, the crew members join an elite group of just 30 previous recipients, including moonwalker Neil Armstrong and space pioneer John Glenn.
The crew's historic 10-day mission, which launched on April 1, marked a major milestone in efforts to return humans to the lunar surface and eventually push forward to Mars. Swinging high above the far side of the Moon, the spacecraft reached a distance of 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth. This surpassed the previous distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970, which stood at 248,655 miles. The journey also made history when Hansen, an astronaut from Canada, became the first non-US citizen to travel to the Moon.
Reflecting on the emotional weight of deep-space exploration after a textbook splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, Wiseman shared how traveling so far puts life into perspective. He noted that while launching feels like the ultimate dream on Earth, being out in deep space makes astronauts long to get back to their families and friends, emphasizing how special human life on planet Earth really is.
The upcoming ceremony follows a White House visit four months earlier and comes amidst ongoing debate over space exploration funding. The Trump administration has proposed a 23 percent overall budget reduction for NASA in fiscal year 2027, including a 46 percent cut to space science initiatives. However, a Republican-led House subcommittee has responded by advancing an alternative budget proposal aimed at preserving the science programs targeted for elimination.
Despite political discussions surrounding future funding, the award recognizes an extraordinary milestone in modern human spaceflight. Previous medals have been bestowed upon historic pioneers as well as astronauts lost in the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia disasters. The last recipients prior to the Artemis II team were Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who were honored for piloting the first commercial crewed orbital flight.