Artemis II crew receives Space Medal of Honor as Trump establishes academy

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were honored.

President Donald Trump on Friday bestowed the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on the Artemis II crew, marking their historic achievement during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The crew -- NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen -- traveled farther into deep space than anyone else in history during their trip around the Moon in April . What they learned during their test flight will help NASA return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2028 .

"We gather here on these storied grounds to celebrate the immense courage and service of four intrepid space heroes whose sense of daring and adventure led them further from Earth than anyone has ever traveled before," Trump said.

Joined at the event by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, the president told a story about being in an important meeting with "the biggest people in the country, maybe some of the biggest people in the world" when someone asked to watch the Artemis II mission.

"You would, really? Right in the middle of our meeting. You want to watch?" Trump recalled saying at the time. He said they had a television set pulled up for the group to watch, adding that "everybody was spellbound."

The president used Friday's occasion to sign an executive order establishing the U.S. Space Academy, a national academy similar to the service academies for the armed forces, such as West Point and the Air Force Academy.

"It will serve both the United States Space Force as well as NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry, and it'll attract, train and graduate the very best of our nation," Trump said.

A location for the new academy will be chosen shortly, according to the president.

During the ceremony, the president personally placed the medal around the necks of each astronaut as they were recognized for their work during the mission.

After receiving his medal, an emotional Wiseman, the commander of the Artemis II mission, spoke about the scale of the joint effort the mission required.

"We wear these four medals, and we are going to wear them with pride. But please know, it is not pride for ourselves that we feel, and I truly mean that," he said. "It is pride for the grit that our families had when we left this planet. It is pride for that team, this NASA team, that sent us on this mission. And it is pride for the international community that stood alongside us, got this vehicle ready, operated and cheered us on."

Glover, the Artemis II pilot, then presented Trump with an official NASA blue flight jacket, saying the crew wanted to make good on its promise to him when they were in the Oval Office.

"To the Artemis crew II, you stand here incredibly deserving of this recognition. Thank you for showing us the moon again, for showing the world your humanity and for passing your knowledge and the baton to the astronauts who will follow in your very accomplished footsteps. There are no finer humans we could have sent as our ambassadors to the stars," NASA's Isaacman said during the event.