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Artemis II moonshot commander and pilot are hanging up their astronaut suits at NASA
Confirmed
In Short: NASA announced that Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover will no longer serve as active astronauts but will continue to support the moon exploration program as emeritus astronauts, according to reports from the Bangor Daily News.
The two astronauts, who flew around the moon in April with two other astronauts, setting a new distance record for humanity, are stepping away from spaceflight, as confirmed by the Bangor Daily News.
As emeritus astronauts, Wiseman and Glover will donate their time to train and mentor NASA workers and share their knowledge for future moon missions, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Jeremy Hansen, the other crew member of Artemis II, retired from the Canadian Space Agency in July, leaving Christina Koch as the only crew member still on the active astronaut rolls.
The transition of Wiseman and Glover to emeritus status is part of NASA's ongoing efforts to build an enduring presence on the moon for science, technology, and exploration, as highlighted by the agency's focus on cutting-edge labs and space farming initiatives at Kennedy Space Center.
What's still developing
- “Together, they took on one of the most challenging missions in human spaceflight and helped return America to the lunar environment,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.
- 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.
- "It's called the U.S. Space Academy," Mr. Trump told a throng of astronauts, engineers and NASA managers.
- 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.
- Trump addressed spaceflight personnel in a large hangar-like building where a full-scale space station mockup is used for training and where he presented Congressional Space Medals of Honor to Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
- It is pride for this NASA team that sent us on this mission.
- Join host Megan Cruz as she explores NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where cutting-edge labs are designing rovers to dig up moon dirt for 3D-printed habitats, zapping moon dust off spacesuits with electricity, and testing growth methods for space farming.