Meet the 4 Artemis II Astronauts Who Just Earned the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and Joined an Exclusive 34-Member Club

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You've heard about Artemis II, the mission that took humans around the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. Now the four astronauts who flew that journey have a new title next to their names: Congressional Space Medal of Honor recipients. President Donald J. Trump presented the award to Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen on Aug. 28, 2026, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Artemis II was the first crewed flight test of NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System. It followed the uncrewed Artemis I mission and sent real astronauts into deep space to verify life-support, communication, navigation, and guidance systems. The mission also proved the operational readiness needed for future flights to the lunar surface and eventually to Mars.

What does it take to join the list of America's most honored astronauts? The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is one of the highest awards in American spaceflight. Congress created it in 1969 to recognize astronauts who show exceptionally brave and meritorious efforts and whose contributions improve the welfare of the nation and humanity. With the Artemis II ceremony, the list has grown to 34 recipients. The crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia also hold this honor, and their courage remains a permanent part of the story.

Every Artemis II crew member brought a unique story to the mission. Reid Wiseman commanded the flight after previously living and working aboard the International Space Station. Victor Glover served as pilot and became the first African American to serve on a long-duration International Space Station crew. Christina Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman and participated in the first all-female spacewalk. Jeremy Hansen is the first Canadian to travel around the Moon, a milestone that highlights the strong international partnership at the heart of lunar exploration.

This lunar flyby places the Artemis II astronauts in a rare group of humans who have traveled beyond Earth's gravitational neighborhood. Their work supports NASA's Artemis campaign, a plan to land astronauts near the lunar South Pole, create a sustainable presence on and around the Moon, and prepare for human missions to Mars. Each successful step makes the next one possible.

The ceremony at Johnson Space Center also honored the training, engineering, and teamwork behind crewed lunar exploration. It also pointed toward what comes next: astronaut landings near the lunar South Pole and the long-term goal of sending humans to Mars. As NASA prepares for those missions, the Artemis II crew's courage and dedication now stand permanently in spaceflight history. Their achievement is a shared milestone for the United States, Canada, and the future of human exploration.