Aug. 28, 2026, 6:03 a.m. ET
- The 4 astronauts of the Artemis II moon mission will obtain the Congressional Area Medal of Honor.
- President Donald Trump will current the award to the crew in a ceremony in Houston.
- The Artemis II mission was the primary time in over 50 years that people flew close to the moon.
- The ceremony might be obtainable to stream reside on NASA+, Amazon Prime, discovery+, and YouTube.
The crew members of the Artemis II moon mission that captivated the world in April are as a result of obtain the very best honor reserved for astronauts.
President Donald Trump will current the 4 astronauts with the Congressional Area Medal of Honor throughout a ceremony Friday, Aug. 28 in Houston. The Artemis II crew NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, in addition to Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency will be a part of an unique membership of 30 spacefarers who’ve obtained the popularity within the final 5 many years.
Desirous about watching the ceremony? NASA and its commercial partners like Amazon will present loads of methods to make sure you can keep up with the event reside this morning.
Watch NASA+ content with Amazon Prime Video
This is how one can watch Trump award the medal to the Artemis II astronauts.
President Trump to award Area Medal of Honor to Artemis II astronauts
Trump, who met with the Artemis II crew on the finish of April within the White Home, will award the 4 astronauts who flew on NASA’s Artemis II moon mission with the Congressional Area Medal of Honor on Friday, Aug. 28.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will be a part of Trump for the ceremony, which can happen at 11 a.m. ET on the Johnson Area Heart in Houston Texas, the U.S. space company introduced in a press release.
What’s the Congressional Area Medal of Honor?
The Congressional Area Medal of Honor is awarded to astronauts whose feats in human spaceflight are thought-about “exceptionally meritorious,” in line with NASA. Whereas Congress authorizes the president to current the celebrated honor, it is the NASA administrator who recommends candidates.
Simply 30 astronauts have obtained the medal since 1978.
Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen would be the first astronauts to obtain the consideration in about three years. In 2023, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley obtained the medal for his or her flight in 2020 on the Demo-2 mission, a test flight to and from the International Space Station validating SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon crew capsule.
The right way to watch NASA protection of launch on YouTube, Netflix, extra
NASA’s live coverage of the ceremony might be obtainable to stream on the company’s free NASA+ app, as properly Amazon Prime, discovery+ and YouTube. Netflix, which provides coverage of choose NASA programming, shouldn’t be promoting the ceremony on its platform.
What was the Artemis II mission?
The second mission underneath NASA’s multibillion-dollar Artemis program, Artemis II marked the first time humans flew near the moon in additional than 50 years and set the stage for a possible crewed landing as early as 2028.
The 4 astronauts rode in NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which hitched a ride to space atop NASA’s highly effective 322-foot Space Launch System rocket throughout an April 1 launch from the Kennedy Area Heart in Florida. In the course of the 10-day spaceflight, the Orion car carried the astronauts across the moon and again to Earth with out touchdown on the lunar floor.
Alongside the best way, Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen surpassed a record set in the course of the notorious Apollo 13 mission in 1970 – touring a historic 252,756 miles from Earth. Additionally they bore witness to sights of the moon’s far side by no means earlier than seen by human eyes whereas touring as shut as 4,067 miles above the floor throughout a lunar flyby.
Three of the astronauts additionally made particular person historical past. Hansen grew to become the primary Canadian chosen for a moon mission, whereas Koch grew to become the primary girl and Glover the primary Black man.
Artemis II crew additionally up for Congressional Gold Medal
The astronauts of Artemis II are additionally up for a Congressional honor thought-about some of the prestigious civilian awards within the nation.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona – a former astronaut – joined retiring Nebraska GOP Rep. Don Bacon to introduce bipartisan payments June 24, in each the Home and Senate to award the Artemis II astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal.
If the laws passes and is signed by Trump into regulation, it will make the Artemis II astronauts the primary crew to obtain a Congressional Gold Medal because the honor was bestowed on the Apollo 11 crew in 2009 – 40 years after that historic mission.
Eric Lagatta is the Area Join reporter for the USA TODAY Community. Attain him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
