Artemis II crew to be awarded top US space medals
Watch: Nasa's Artemis II astronauts talk about their time in space (April 2026)
- Published
The four astronauts who travelled around the Moon on Nasa's Artemis II mission earlier this year are set to receive one of the highest awards for space exploration.
The crew will be presented with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by US President Donald Trump at a ceremony later this week.
Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, spent ten days travelling around the Moon in April.
The record-breaking mission saw the astronauts travel beyond the far side of the Moon, setting a new record for the furthest distance humans have ever travelled into space.
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What is the Congressional Space Medal of Honor?
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is a special award given to astronauts who have made important contributions to their country and space exploration.
The honour is the highest award the US Government can give to an astronaut, and is awarded by the US President following recommendations from the head of Nasa.
Only 30 astronauts have ever received the medal since it was created, making it a very rare honour.
They include Neil Armstrong, who was the first person to walk on the Moon, and John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth.
The Artemis II crew are set to receive their medals from US President Donald Trump on Friday 28 August, during a ceremony at Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
What was Artemis II?
Watch: The story of the Artemis II mission (April 2026)
The Artemis II mission saw four astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch - spend ten days in space.
The four were onboard the Orion spacecraft which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida, on Wednesday 1 April UK time.
The mission saw the four travel past the far side of the Moon (that's the side that can't be seen from our planet because the Moon keeps the same face towards Earth), before heading home.
They were the first group of astronauts to travel around the Moon since the 1970s.
The four saw places never seen by humans before, and made history too - setting the record for the farthest humans have ever travelled from Earth.
