Trump Wants a Moon Object Named After Him

US President Donald Trump hopes that a lunar or astronomical object will be named in his honor. He made the remark during a visit to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Friday.

The president's quip came as he presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four Artemis II astronauts who flew around the moon in April. Trump recalled that a lunar crater was recently named in honor of the late wife of astronaut Reid Wiseman.

"I wish they'd name something like that after me, Reid," Trump told Wiseman, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. "But I don't know. I'll have to get the [Texas] governor's approval," he added with a chuckle.

Honoring the Crew

During the ceremony at Houston's Johnson Space Center, Trump presented the medal to Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of Canada. They were the first astronauts to travel to the moon in more than half a century, coming within 4,067 miles (6,545 km) of the lunar surface while testing NASA's new Orion capsule.

Nasa's administrator, Jared Isaacman, and other dignitaries took part in the packed ceremony. Trump took the opportunity to announce the creation of a US space academy for the nation's space force, Nasa, and the commercial space community.

"Space is the hot thing," Trump said, adding that the academy's location has yet to be determined.

'The Space Race Has Begun'

While the crew didn't stop at the moon, their mission set the stage for the Artemis III docking rehearsal in orbit around Earth next year. An Artemis IV moon landing by two astronauts, near the lunar south pole, could follow as soon as 2028.

Trump said Americans will land back on the moon before his second presidency ends, with Mars next – "very shortly".

With tensions rising on Earth, the US isn't the only country with lunar ambitions. Nasa's deputy administrator pointed to the growing competition, saying "the second space race is on" as China eyes the same lunar south pole region.

Trump also told reporters he would never agree to go into space, even as he champions the nation's next steps among the stars.