Trump Establishes Space Academy, Awards Medals Of Honor To Artemis II Astronauts

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday establishing the U.S. Space Academy during a ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. At the same event, he awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission, recognizing their historic lunar flyby in April.

The executive order directs NASA leadership to develop a proposal within 120 days for the Space Academy, which will offer technical education and degree programs aimed at training the next generation of space professionals. The initiative is designed to support NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and private sector space enterprises by cultivating skilled leaders.

Speaking at the ceremony, Trump emphasized the academy’s role in fostering national talent. “It will attract, train, graduate the very best of our nation,” he said. “But first, we have to honor the heroes who are inspiring the next generation of astronauts and pioneers.”

The president also praised the Artemis II crew—NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—for their historic journey. Their 10-day Artemis II mission launched on April 1 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the Orion spacecraft named *Integrity*. They traveled 252,758 miles from Earth and covered nearly 700,000 miles during the lunar flyby, marking the farthest humans have traveled from Earth since the Apollo era.

Trump had previously spoken with the crew while they were in space and hosted them at the White House on April 29 following their return.

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor, established by Congress in 1969, recognizes astronauts for “exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and of mankind.” The Artemis II crew becomes the 31st group to receive the award, joining a select list of 30 prior recipients. Past honorees include space pioneers Neil Armstrong, Frank Borman, Pete Conrad, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, and Alan Shepard, who were awarded the medal in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter.

NASA’s administrator recommends recipients based on exceptional service, and the Artemis II crew’s selection underscores their contributions to the success of the mission and the advancement of human space exploration.

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