Artemis II crew to receive top US space medal for historic lunar journey

The four astronauts from NASA’s Artemis II lunar flyby mission will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the highest honor awarded to U.S. astronauts.

Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen are scheduled to receive the medals on Aug. 28.

During their 10-day mission, the crew traveled farther from Earth than any previous human spaceflight, reaching about 252,756 miles while flying around the Moon.

Hansen also became the first non-U.S. citizen to travel to the Moon, marking another milestone for the historic mission, The Guardian has reported.

The ceremony comes as the Trump administration faces debate over proposed NASA budget cuts, while lawmakers have advanced an alternative budget that would preserve several space science programs.