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Artemis II Crew Retires After Historic Moon Mission
Confirmed
In Short: Two NASA astronauts who recently completed the Artemis II mission have retired from active spaceflight.
Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, who piloted the Artemis II mission around the moon in April, have now retired from active spaceflight. Wiseman, who also commanded SpaceX’s second operational crew flight, will focus on youth outreach and spending time with his family, including his three daughters who attend Cal Poly.
Glover, who spent nearly six months on the International Space Station in 2020 and 2021, will continue to mentor NASA personnel in their emeritus roles. "That’s not NASA’s mission, but I can still help NASA from the sidelines," he said.
Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian Space Agency astronaut who also flew on Artemis II, retired in July, leaving Christina Koch as the only active astronaut from the mission. The Artemis II crew set a new human distance record during their lunar journey.
In their new roles, Wiseman and Glover will contribute to future lunar missions by sharing their expertise and experience. "Together, they took on one of the most challenging missions in human spaceflight and helped return America to the lunar environment," Isaacman added.
What's still developing
- Last month, the Artemis II crew received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from Trump during at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston Last month, the Artemis II crew received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from Trump during at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston Two NASA astronauts who guided the Artemis II lunar mission earlier this year are retiring from active spaceflight.
- His role in San Luis Obispo began Sept. 1, coinciding with his Navy retirement.
- Updated on: August 28, 2026 / 6:56 PM EDT / CBS News President Trump signed an executive order Friday to begin a process of creating a U.S. Space Academy for the use of the U.S. Space Force, NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry.
- Mr. Trump announced the new academy at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston during an event awarding the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four-person crew of Artemis II, which flew around the moon earlier this year, a flight that helps set the stage for a lunar landing in 2028.
- He did not mention the second Bush administration's decision to cancel the shuttle program in 2010 (later 2011) or the establishment of NASA's commercial crew and cargo programs, which began under President Barack Obama and, while taking longer than expected, resulted in the development of the SpaceX Crew Dragon ferry ship and Boeing's Starliner capsule.
- It's not clear what kind of access the civilian spaceflight industry will have to the federal academy.
- It is pride for this NASA team that sent us on this mission.
- The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate (HSMD) have released the final text of the fifth Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN-5) as NNH26ZDA016C.