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The four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission have received the prestigious Stephen Hawking Medal for their efforts to make space exploration accessible and inspiring to people around the world.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, were honoured on Saturday at the opening ceremony of the Starmus VIII festival in the Canary Islands. Wiseman, Glover and Hansen attended the ceremony, while Koch was absent.
The award recognises the crew’s efforts to connect people with their historic lunar mission through live communications, interviews and photographs, offering audiences a glimpse into life aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
Wiseman told the audience that seeing Earth from near the Moon had given him a profound perspective on humanity and the planet.
“If we could take each of you 250,000 miles away from this planet, 400,000 kilometres away from planet Earth, and you would see Earth the size of your thumb. It’s tiny,” he said.
“When you’re there looking through the moon, back at this tiny Earth, the only thing you feel is love, peace, hope, unity,” he added.
“Those aren’t the right words, but that is all you feel.”
During their mission, the astronauts not only tested NASA’s Orion spacecraft but also shared images and experiences that helped people worldwide connect with the complexities and wonders of space exploration.
Established in 2016 by physicist Stephen Hawking and the Starmus festival, the medal honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to communicating science and inspiring public interest in scientific discovery.
Previous recipients include Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, naturalist David Attenborough, primatologist Jane Goodall and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
The 2026 ceremony marks the award’s 10th anniversary. Filmmaker Ridley Scott is also among this year’s honourees.
“It’s a special thrill for us at Starmus to be able to honour the intrepid Artemis II crew members in the same way that we honoured the Apollo astronauts who paved the way to the moon over 50 years ago,” Starmus co-founder and Queen guitarist Brian May said ahead of the ceremony.
Wiseman urged people to use the perspective gained from space exploration to make a positive difference on Earth.
“When you come home to this beautiful planet, you realise that it’s in every single one of us to choose to make tomorrow better,” he said. “So let’s all choose to make tomorrow better.”
Starmus VIII runs from October 17 to 22 across Tenerife and La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands. Under the theme “The Search for Truth”, the festival brings together scientists, astronauts, musicians and artists to celebrate scientific discovery and promote evidence-based thinking.