The four astronauts who completed a historic flight around the Moon in April have received the highest space award in the United States. During a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were presented with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
The crew—three Americans and one Canadian—became the first humans to travel to the Moon in more than 50 years. Testing NASA's new Orion capsule and soaring aboard its massive 30-story Moon rocket, the team flew within 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) of the lunar surface, setting a new distance record for human space travel.
With this recognition, the four crew members join an elite group of just 34 astronauts in history to receive the medal. Previous recipients include Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, and Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
The ceremony was attended by dozens of veteran and active astronauts, including 91-year-old Harrison Schmitt, who walked on the Moon during Apollo 17 in 1972. Schmitt noted that while his mission was the most productive lunar exploration of its era, it would soon be surpassed by the Artemis program.
The success of Artemis II sets the stage for upcoming lunar exploration milestones. NASA is planning Artemis III as an orbital docking rehearsal, followed by Artemis IV, which aims to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole as early as 2028. Scientists target the south pole because its permanently shadowed craters contain frozen water, which could potentially be turned into drinking water and rocket fuel for long-term lunar bases.
During the event, US officials also announced plans to create a new space academy to train personnel for NASA, the US Space Force, and the commercial space sector. To close the ceremony, the Artemis II crew presented a blue flight jacket with official mission patches as a gift, fulfilling a promise made after their return from deep space.