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Artemis II pilot thanks NASA for letting him fly Orion by hand: 'I'm still blown away by that trust'
President Donald Trump will award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the Artemis II crew on Aug. 28 at Johnson Space Center, recognizing their record-breaking journey around the moon. The crew, consisting of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13's record.
The four astronauts who flew NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon earlier this year are set to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the U.S. space agency announced. President Donald Trump will present the medal to Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen during an Aug. 28 ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, beginning at 11 a.m. EDT.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor, authorized by Congress in 1969, is the highest award the U.S. government can bestow upon an astronaut. Only 30 astronauts have received it to date, including Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, as well as astronauts killed in the Apollo I fire and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters. Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who in 2020 became the first astronauts to launch into orbit on a commercial spacecraft, were the last recipients, accepting the medal in 2023. According to a count cited by Fox News, awarding the medal to the four Artemis II astronauts would bring the total to 34.
A record-breaking voyage
Artemis II, the first crewed flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft, launched on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System rocket, which produced 8.8 million pounds of thrust. The 10-day mission took the crew around the moon and back, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. It was the first crewed voyage beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 returned from the moon in 1972.
At their farthest point, the crew traveled 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth, breaking the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 (248,655 miles). They covered 695,081 miles during the mission and passed within 4,067 miles of the lunar surface during an April 6 flyby. The astronauts captured more than 7,000 images, including earthrise, earthset, lunar craters, lava flows, and a solar eclipse, and reported meteoroid impact flashes on the moon's night side. Orion entered Earth's atmosphere at roughly 25,000 mph before splashing down off California.
NASA has said the mission tested Orion's life-support systems and manual piloting capabilities, gathering data for future deep-space crews. Administrator Jared Isaacman said the astronauts accepted "significant risk" while testing spacecraft and systems for future missions.
Celebrating the crew's journey
The announcement of the medal comes amid ongoing public engagement by the crew. On Aug. 3, the astronauts appeared at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, where about 8,500 people gathered to celebrate their mission. The event featured remarks from Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Robert Lightfoot of Lockheed Martin Space, and Lori Glaze, NASA associate administrator for the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate.
At Red Rocks, the crew shared personal reflections on the mission. Wiseman said Orion "handled incredibly well" and that the crew learned the most about habitability with four humans aboard. Glover discussed a proximity operations demonstration in which the crew flew the spacecraft by hand using the upper stage as a reference target, saying, "I'm still blown away by that trust." Koch mentioned taking handwritten letters from her family and a cow figurine on the journey. Hansen emphasized international collaboration as a deliberate contribution of the mission.
The crew's White House visit in April, four months before the scheduled medal ceremony, was marked by a moment of levity. President Trump, who turned 80 in June, told the astronauts, "I would have had no trouble making it – I'm physically very, very good." According to The Guardian, the crew was selected for the medal by Trump after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recommended them.
Looking ahead: Artemis III and beyond
NASA's Artemis program aims to establish a base near the lunar south pole. The agency plans for Artemis III, targeted for mid-year 2027, to demonstrate docking with commercial landers from Blue Origin and/or SpaceX. Artemis IV, slated for 2028, is expected to be the program's first lunar landing.
At the Red Rocks event, Glaze said NASA is "very focused" on landing at the lunar south pole and that vendor lander designs are for that region. Glover expressed a need to be "realistic" and to work progressively toward a south pole landing rather than attempting it first.
The medal ceremony will feature both President Trump and Administrator Isaacman, and will be streamed live on NASA's website, according to NASA's media advisory.
How each outlet told it
Fox News — World
Framing: Headline emphasizes President Trump's role in awarding the medal, similar to other outlets. — patriotic and celebratory, e.g., 'America returns to the Moon to build a base and to stay'
Facts Included:
President Trump will award Congressional Space Medal of Honor to four astronauts on Aug. 28
Crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen
Mission began April 1, splashdown April 10
Maximum distance: 252,756 miles from Earth, breaking Apollo 13's record
Covered 695,081 miles during mission
Passed within 4,067 miles of lunar surface on April 6
Captured more than 7,000 images including earthrise, earthset, lunar craters, lava flows, solar eclipse
Reported meteoroid impact flashes on moon's night side
Orion entered atmosphere at ~25,000 mph
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said astronauts accepted 'significant risk'
Medal authorized by Congress in 1969
List of 30 previous recipients includes Armstrong, Glenn, Shepard, Lovell
Armstrong among six who received from Carter in 1978
Four would bring recipients to 34
Artemis II tested life-support, manual piloting
Artemis III in 2027, Artemis IV first lunar landing in 2028
Isaacman's statement to Fox News Digital
White House did not immediately respond to request for comment
Framing: Headline focuses on Glover's gratitude and the piloting experience, personalizing the story. — celebratory and awestruck, e.g., 'all of them clearly awestruck'
Facts Included:
Aug. 3 event at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado
8,500 people attended
Crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen
10-day mission began April 1, splashed down April 10
First crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit in 53 years
Robert Lightfoot of Lockheed Martin spoke
Colorado Governor Jared Polis made remarks
Lori Glaze, NASA associate administrator, spoke
Wiseman said Orion 'handled incredibly well' and discussed habitability lessons
Glover discussed proximity operations demonstration, flying by hand, and said 'I'm still blown away by that trust'
Koch described taking handwritten letters and a cow figurine
Hansen emphasized international collaboration
NASA plans Artemis III in 2027 and discussed lander docking demonstrations
Glaze addressed risks and south pole landing plans
Glover expressed need to be realistic about south pole landing
Framing: Headline emphasizes the crew receiving the medal and calls the journey 'historic'. — measured but with a critical edge, e.g., 'Trump has sought to embrace the Artemis II crew’s achievements despite his administration’s proposal to cut NASA’s budget'
Facts Included:
Artemis II crew to receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor on 28 August
Crew: Cmdr Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen
Medal selected by Donald Trump after NASA administrator Jared Isaacman recommended them
Crew broke Apollo 13's record for farthest distance from Earth, reaching 252,756 miles (406,771 km)
Mission began on 1 April and lasted 10 days
Wiseman quote about the mission: "This was not easy..."
Previous recipients include Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and astronauts killed in Apollo I, Challenger, and Columbia
Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken last received the medal in 2023
Trump hosted crew at White House four months prior
Trump turned 80 in June and joked about physically being able to go
Trump administration proposed cutting NASA budget by 23%, including 46% reduction for space science
House subcommittee advanced own proposal to maintain science projects
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimThe Artemis II crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—are set to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on August 28.
ClaimPresident Donald Trump selected the Artemis II crew for the Congressional Space Medal of Honor after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recommended them.
ClaimPrevious Congressional Space Medal of Honor recipients include astronauts killed in the Apollo I fire and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
ClaimDouglas Hurley and Robert Behnken were the last astronauts to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor before the Artemis II crew, accepting it in 2023.
ClaimAfter the Artemis II mission, Reid Wiseman said: "This was not easy. Before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on Earth. And when you're out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It's a special thing to be a human, and it's a special thing to be on planet Earth."
ClaimAt the White House visit, President Trump told the Artemis II astronauts: "I would have had no trouble making it – I'm physically very, very good."
ClaimThe Trump administration proposed cutting NASA's budget by 23%, including a 46% reduction for space science initiatives, for the 2027 fiscal year beginning October 1.
ClaimA House commerce, justice and science subcommittee advanced its own NASA budget proposal that would maintain the science projects the Trump administration aimed to eliminate.
ClaimNASA's media advisory states Trump will give the medal to "each of NASA's Artemis II crew members," suggesting Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen might not receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
ClaimVictor Glover said the Artemis II crew conducted a proximity operations demonstration, flying the spacecraft by hand using the upper stage as a reference target, and stated "I'm still blown away by that trust."
ClaimNASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the Artemis II astronauts accepted "significant risk" while testing spacecraft and systems for future deep-space crews.
ClaimIn a statement to Fox News Digital, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that under President Trump's leadership Artemis II captivated the world and that astronauts will walk on the Moon again during Artemis IV in 2028.
ClaimArtemis II pilot Victor Glover has stated there is a need to be realistic and progressively work toward a lunar south pole landing rather than land there first.