President Donald J. Trump will present NASA’s Artemis II crew with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The event is scheduled for Friday, August 28, at 11 a.m. ET.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is one of the highest honors awarded for achievements in human spaceflight. The recognition honors astronauts whose extraordinary work has advanced the United States’ space exploration efforts.
Artemis II makes history in human spaceflight
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, completed a historic 10-day mission around the moon on April 10.
Artemis II was the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which was built to transport astronauts on missions beyond low Earth orbit. The mission served as a critical test of Orion and its life-support, navigation and crew systems.
During the mission, the Artemis II astronauts became the first humans to travel beyond the moon in more than 50 years. The crew also set a new human-spaceflight distance record by traveling farther from Earth than any people had previously ventured.
Artemis II astronauts to receive top spaceflight honor
The August 28 ceremony will recognize the Artemis II crew’s historic contribution to NASA’s Artemis program and its goal of returning astronauts to deep space and, ultimately, the moon.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is also expected to attend the Johnson Space Center ceremony alongside President Trump and the four Artemis II astronauts.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com