Home / Science / Artemis II Crew Nominated for Top Civilian Honor
Artemis II Crew Nominated for Top Civilian Honor
24 Jun
Summary
- Artemis II astronauts may receive a Congressional Gold Medal.
- Legislation is bipartisan, introduced by a Senator and a Representative.
- The mission flew humans near the moon for the first time in decades.
The four-person Artemis II crew is poised to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors. This bipartisan effort, spearheaded by Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Don Bacon, recognizes the crew's historic mission, which marked the first time humans flew near the moon in over 50 years.
The proposed legislation aims to bestow this prestigious award, akin to the one given to the Apollo 11 crew in 2009. Senator Kelly highlighted the mission's success in advancing human space exploration and inspiring future generations. Representative Bacon echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the mission's continuation of the Apollo program's legacy.
The Artemis II mission, launched April 1, 2026, aboard NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, took the astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon and back. During this flight, they set a new distance record from Earth, surpassing 252,756 miles.
This achievement is seen as a crucial step in NASA's broader lunar exploration program, which includes upcoming missions like Artemis III, targeting a moon landing in 2027, and Artemis IV in 2028. The ultimate goal of the Artemis program is to establish a lunar base and pave the way for future crewed expeditions to Mars.
