The Artemis II astronauts, who flew around the moon in April, were awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Friday. Donald Trump presented the honour to the three American astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
Their lunar flyby for NASA set a new distance record for humanity. The ceremony, held at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, also saw President Trump announce the creation of a US space academy for the nation’s space force, NASA, and the commercial space community.
The Artemis II crew were the first astronauts to travel to the moon in over half a century, coming within 4,067 miles (6,545km) while test-driving NASA’s new Orion capsule. They were also the first to launch aboard NASA’s new 30-story moon rocket.