OAN Staff Jenna Lee and Brooke Mallory
1:18 PM – Wednesday, April 29, 2026
President Donald Trump hosted the four astronauts from the historic Artemis II moon fly-by mission at the White House. The friendly meeting took place almost three weeks after the crew returned to earth from a mission around the moon.
After a successful water landing off the San Diego coast earlier this month, the four astronauts are now balancing the physical demands of readapting to Earth with a demanding public schedule. While they have several appearances planned, few carry the prestige of today’s formal reception in the Oval Office.
“You’ve made history and made all America really proud,” said Trump to the astronauts in a phone call during their preparation for their return to earth. “America is a frontier nation, and the four brave astronauts of Artemis II … really are modern-day pioneers.”
The crew — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, alongside the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — traveled farther from earth than any humans in history, capturing unprecedented views of the lunar far side.
Having established the Artemis program during his first term, the president highlighted the mission as the centerpiece of a modern NASA revival and a definitive return to deep-space exploration. In 2017, Trump signed Space Policy Directive-1, which instructed NASA to return humans to the moon.
The program also emphasized using the Moon as a stepping stone for future Mars missions.
“President Trump is honored to host the legendary crew in the Oval Office tomorrow to celebrate their unmatched achievements,” reported White House spokeswoman Liz Huston to the New York Post.
Looking ahead, Artemis III is currently slated for late 2027 as a critical Earth-orbit demonstration. During this mission, an Orion capsule carrying a fresh crew will reportedly perform docking maneuvers with commercial lunar landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, testing the integrated systems required for deep-space transit.
Success in these orbital trials would pave the way for Artemis IV, which is currently targeted for early 2028 and is envisioned as the mission that will return humans to the lunar surface. This landing is intended to be the first of many regular expeditions aimed at establishing a permanent base at the lunar south pole.
NASA views this sustained presence as a vital “proving ground” where astronauts can live and work while developing the advanced life-support and propulsion technologies necessary for the agency’s ultimate goal — a crewed mission to Mars.
Despite these ambitious milestones, the timing of today’s meeting comes amid a significant policy shift in the White House’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal. The administration has requested a 23% reduction in NASA’s overall funding, with the most severe impact directed at the Science Mission Directorate, which faces a proposed 47% cut.
However, the proposal faces a difficult path in Congress. Leaders from both parties have expressed strong opposition to the cuts, with many advocates in the House and Senate signaling they intend to reject the administration’s request in favor of maintaining the agency’s current funding levels.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!