Artemis II astronauts receive nation's highest space honor for their successful moonshot

The Artemis II astronauts -- Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen -- were honored with the nation's highest space award on Friday. President Donald Trump presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four astronauts, who had previously circled the moon in April. The moon flyby set a new distance record for humanity.

The astronauts, accompanied by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, received the prestigious honor at a packed ceremony at Houston's Johnson Space Center. Trump announced the creation of a US space academy during the ceremony, though its location has yet to be decided. The crew of Artemis II, the first to launch in NASA's new Orion capsule and the first to fly on NASA's new moon rocket, set the stage for next year's Artemis III docking rehearsal in Earth's orbit.

They could pave the way for the moon landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole as early as 2028. Trump predicted Americans would return to the moon before his second term ends, with Mars following shortly thereafter. The astronauts expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to the Artemis II mission. Only 30 astronauts have received this honor before them, many of whom were awarded posthumously.

The most recent recipients were Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, the first astronauts to launch on a SpaceX rocket.