President Donald Trump will appear Friday at NASA's Johnson Space Center to honor Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen.
Trump, who raised money for Republicans Thursday in Houston, will present each member of the Artemis II crew with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor - a prestigious award for astronauts who make "exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and of mankind," according to NASA. Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, completed a 9-day mission around the moon in April as part of NASA's program to eventually return humans to the lunar surface.
Thirty astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, John Glenn and the crews who died on the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle missions, have received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor since 1978. The president awards the medal based on recommendations from NASA's administrator.
Jared Isaacman, who heads up the agency in that role, will be present at the ceremony in Houston.
Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen were the first people to fly to the moon since Apollo 17 astronauts landed there in 1972, and their Artemis II mission broke the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth. Glover was the first Black man to fly around the moon, Koch was the first woman and Hansen was the first Canadian.
Chronicle journalists are covering the event inside and outside the ceremony. Follow along for live updates throughout the day.
Trump has shown a particular interest in space policy during his two terms in office.
"He's certainly, particularly among modern presidents, one of the more energetic and impactful drivers of national space policy," said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for the Planetary Society, a space advocacy organization.
He redirected NASA to the moon with the Artemis Program and created the U.S. Space Force during his first term in office. But his second term is a bit more checkered.
Dreier said he's less supportive of NASA science. Trump has proposed significant budget cuts for the agency - largely from science, though Congress rejected his cuts in fiscal year 2026 and the 2027 budget has not yet been finalized - and supported DOGE efforts that prompted NASA to cut its workforce by nearly 4,000 civil servants.
Changes in other parts of the federal government have affected the agency's grants, too. The rate at which NASA is giving new research grants has fallen about 20% from its average, Dreier said.
"There's internal bureaucratic changes that have really impacted the ability of NASA to do one of its core statutory responsibilities," Dreier said, "which is the scientific exploration of the cosmos."
There's more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at Trump to honor Artemis II astronauts in Houston with Space Medal of Honor at NASA Friday.