Texas: US President Donald Trump accorded the crew members of the Artemis II Space mission America's highest space award and also signed the order to create the US Space Academy.
Sharing the details, NASA said that Trump awarded astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen with the Congressional Space Medal of Honour on Friday for their service during the Artemis II mission. He presented the awards during a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, honouring the first medal recipients since 2023.
On the occasion, President Trump said, "We gather on these historic grounds to celebrate the immense courage of four intrepid space heroes whose sense of daring and adventure led them further from Earth than anyone has ever travelled before."
He lauded the skills of the people involved in the mission and said, "Today we're proudly awarding the Congressional Space Medal of Honour to the remarkable crew of Artemis II. These astronauts did not do it alone. I want to salute all of the engineers, scientists, launch and landing specialists, everyone at NASA who helped make this mission a great success."
NASA's historic Artemis II mission launched on April 1, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.
Trump also signed an Executive Order on Friday to establish the nation's first US Space Academy.
NASA noted that the proposed academy would focus on technical education, leadership development, discipline, and a commitment to public service, helping ultimately advance U.S. interests in space.
"Given the rapid growth of the U.S. Space Force and commercial space industry, and the expansion of our ambitions to the Moon and far beyond the Moon, it's clear we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, and civil operators," President Trump said.
The signing of "Establishing the United States Space Academy Executive Order" took place at NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, where the President also presented the Artemis II crew members with the Congressional Space Medal of Honour.
American broadcaster Fox News reported that President Donald Trump also spoke with American astronauts aboard the International Space Station from Houston.
According to Fox News, the astronauts expressed pleasure at speaking to the President and said they were "thrilled".
He welcomed other officials to speak to the ISS crew and offered to welcome the astronauts to the White House when they return.
According to a release by NASA, the order calls on NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to serve as the chair of a new Presidential Commission on the United States Space Academy, and NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson to serve as the executive director.
They will work with vice chairs -- Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Michael Kratsios, and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, Kevin Hassett -- and other representatives from the White House and the interagency on the commission.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
