The Artemis II crew (clockwise from left): NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel
Washington, D.C. — July 9, 2026 — President Donald Trump has gifted the Artemis astronaut corps an American flag that flew above the United States Capitol on the nation’s 250th birthday, directing them to plant it on the lunar surface during a future mission.
The flag was presented during the America 250 celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2026. U.S. Air Force Maj. Kaitlyn Tinkham carried the folded flag onto the stage, where Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt received it alongside Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, symbolically bridging the Apollo and Artemis generations.
“This morning, on America’s 250th birthday, a new flag was flown above the United States Capitol,” Trump told the crowd. “Tonight I present it to you, to soon be planted by American astronauts on their upcoming return to the moon.”
The flag is now in NASA’s custody and is slated to fly aboard Artemis IV, the first mission of the Artemis program that will land astronauts on the lunar surface. Artemis IV is currently targeted for 2028, though no crew has been announced for the mission.
The presentation was part of a broader ceremony honoring American historical figures alongside a display of iconic flags from U.S. history, including a 1777 flag, the flag that draped Abraham Lincoln’s casket, flags carried by the Lewis and Clark expedition, and a flag that flew from the Wright brothers’ plane.
Trump also highlighted the rapid pace of American space achievement. “Within 66 years of inventing the airplane, Americans planted our flag on the moon,” he said. “Just three months ago, we sent American astronauts back to the far side of the moon, and this time they flew further from Earth than anyone has ever flown before.”
That milestone refers to Artemis II, which launched on April 1, 2026, and carried the four-person crew approximately 1,127,000 kilometers (700,000 miles) during a 10-day flyby of the moon. The mission set a record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth and marked the first crewed lunar voyage since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Artemis II crew included commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch of NASA, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who recently announced his retirement. The crew flew farther from Earth than any humans in history, looping around the far side of the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on April 11.
Looking ahead, Artemis III — planned for mid-to-late 2027 — will launch an Orion capsule into low Earth orbit for docking validation with commercial lunar landers developed by SpaceX (Starship) and Blue Origin (Blue Moon). Artemis IV, expected in 2028, will be the first to put astronauts back on the lunar surface, where the Capitol flag will be planted.
The gesture echoes a long tradition of American flags traveling to the moon. The Apollo 11 crew planted the first U.S. flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, and five subsequent Apollo missions repeated the act. The Artemis program aims to establish a sustained human presence on and around the moon, including the Gateway lunar outpost, with an eventual goal of crewed missions to Mars.