The four Artemis II astronauts who flew around the Moon earlier this year have received the Congressional Space Medal of Honour, the US’s highest space honour.Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen were the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than 50 years. During their April mission, they came within 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometres) of the Moon while testing Nasa’s Orion spacecraft.
The crew did not land, but their mission helped prepare for Artemis III, while Artemis IV could land astronauts near the lunar south pole as early as 2028.
President Donald Trump presented the medals in Houston and announced plans for a US Space Academy.
Only 30 astronauts had received the medal before them, including Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong.