Trump to award Artemis II crew Congressional Space Medal of Honor

U.S. President Donald Trump honored the crew of the Artemis II mission with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Friday. The four astronauts - NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen - made history by becoming the first humans to travel beyond the moon in over 50 years. The ceremony took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas.

Trump praised Hansen, the first non-American to participate in the mission, for his science and physics expertise, his experience as a fighter pilot, and his role as the mission specialist. He called the crew "four intrepid space heroes." After receiving their medals, Wiseman emphasized the dedication and support from families, the NASA team, and the international community that made the mission possible.

The Artemis II crew completed a 10-day mission around the moon in April. President Trump announced plans for a U.S. Space Academy for the Space Force and emphasized the importance of space exploration, stating that Americans will return to the moon before his term ends. The four astronauts of Artemis III will orbit Earth while testing docking procedures with lunar landers.