Trump awards Artemis II crew with Congressional Space Medal of Honor

President Trump awarded NASA’s Artemis II crew with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Friday during a visit to Johnson Space Center in Houston.

U.S. astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen all received the honor four months after their historic mission in which the crew flew by the moon.

Astronaut legends John Glenn, Neil Armstrong and the crews who died on the Columbia and Challenger space shuttles are among the 30 astronauts who have been awarded the honor since 1978.

“Today we add four new names to this elite roster of explorers,” Trump said during the ceremony . “It’s really what they are when you think of it, fearless explorers.”

“It’s a very rare thing. It’s for courageous people, brilliant people,” he continued, referencing the award. “Bestowed on astronauts who have distinguished themselves with exceptional service to the nation and all of mankind.”

After the president awarded the crewmembers with the honor, the astronauts gifted him a blue flight jacket.

The Artemis II mission was the first crewed journey beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years and was considered the initial phase of NASA’s goal to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2028.

The crew visited Trump in the Oval Office following their return to Earth in late April.

The president also announced during the ceremony that he would sign an executive order establishing the U.S. Space Academy .

“So you think of West Point and you think of Annapolis and you think of the Air Force Academy, and you think of the Coast Guard academies, and they’re all great,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have a Space Force. We’re going to have an academy for what people in this room love the most.”

He has made space a priority during both of his administrations. In 2019, during his first term, the U.S. Space Force was created as a branch of the country’s armed forces.

Last week, the administration released a policy with the goal of increasing the number of rockets sent into space.

Following his remarks and the award ceremony, Trump called the International Space Station from Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.

“To be with you is a great honor,” he told the astronauts in space. “Brave people. I wouldn’t do it, I will tell you right now. I hate to admit it, I would not do it, but some people love it more than anything, and you have amazing courage.”