Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen broke record for farthest distance traveled from Earth

The crew of the historic Artemis II lunar flyby mission have earned the US’s top space medal, officials have announced.

Cmdr Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are set to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on 28 August, the US space agency Nasa said.

Nasa’s website indicates that only 30 astronauts have gained the honor – among them Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, and John Glenn, who was first to orbit Earth and then served four terms in the US Senate.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen were selected for the medal, despite its name, by Donald Trump after the Nasa administrator, Jared Isaacman, recommended them to the president.