NASA's Artemis II astronauts to receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor on August 28; Here’s how to watch the ceremony live

The four astronauts who flew to the Moon earlier this year will receive the highest U.S. government award for achievements in spaceflight on Friday, August 28. These astronauts were part of NASA’s Artemis II mission—the first crewed lunar endeavor since Apollo 17, which launched in 1972. They will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from U.S. President Donald Trump at 11 am EDT at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 

The Artemis II crew, which spent 10 days in April traveling to the Moon and back, comprised NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. The historic mission made Koch the first woman to fly to the Moon, Glover the first person of color on a lunar mission, and Hansen the first Canadian to embark on a lunar journey. Artemis II was not a landing mission, as its primary objective was to test the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft with humans onboard in lunar orbit. 

How to watch the award ceremony live? 

NASA will stream the award ceremony live on a variety of platforms. The coverage will begin at 11 am, and you can stream it live on NASA’s official X profile, Discovery+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and NASA+. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman will also join the President and the astronauts in the ceremony. 

Artemis II astronauts join elite list 

The Congressional Space Medal has been awarded to 30 astronauts to date. Interestingly, only five women have received the prestigious honor and Koch will be the sixth to join the elite list. 17 astronauts have been awarded the medal posthumously, and they belonged to the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia, which ended in tragedy. 

The medal is presented by the U.S. President upon recommendations from the NASA Administrator and approval from Congress, and it is meant to honor “any astronaut who in the performance of his duties has distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and of mankind.” The medals were last awarded in January 2023 to Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who flew on SpaceX’s Demo-2 test flight to the International Space Station on May 30, 2020. It was the first crewed mission of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. It also marked the first time American astronauts launched from American soil on an American rocket (SpaceX's Falcon 9) since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.  

Artemis II launched on April 1, and it marked the return of astronauts to the lunar vicinity after over 50 years. Over ten days, NASA tested critical components of the Orion spacecraft, such as the life support system and how space radiation would affect humans around the Moon.

During Artemis II, the astronauts also witnessed a historic first-ever total solar eclipse from their unique vantage point during a flyby and traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, breaking the record for human spaceflight’s farthest distance previously set by the Apollo 13 crew. On April 10, the Orion spacecraft made a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, setting the stage for a Moon landing that is targeted during Artemis IV in 2028.

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