President Trump to host Artemis II astronauts at White House

• The crew recently returned from a historic mission where they flew around the far side of the moon.
• The Artemis program, established during Trump's first term, aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface.
• The meeting occurs as the White House proposes budget cuts to NASA, drawing criticism from science advocates.

President Donald Trump will meet with the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission at the White House nearly three weeks after the crew returned from a trailblazing mission around the moon.

Since make a water landing April 10 near the coast of California, the three Americans and one Canadian who set out on the historic lunar journey have been adapting to life back on Earth while making requisite public appearances. Now, their impending trip to the Oval Office will be among the most high-profile appearances the astronauts are due to make.

Trump first extended the invitation to the crew April 6 right after they completed a stunning flyby over the moon's rarely-observed far side. The Artemis II astronauts are due to meet with the president as NASA's lunar ambitions heat up – and as Trump's White House targets the space agency led by Administrator Jared Isaacman for funding cuts.

Here's what to know about Trump's meeting with the crew of the Artemis II mission.

President Trump to host Artemis astronauts at White House

Trump is set to host the four astronauts from the Artemis II mission Wednesday, April 29, in the Oval Office, according to a White House schedule.

Set for 2 p.m. ET, the meeting would come nearly three weeks after the astronauts returned April 10 from a mission in which they made history by flying farther from Earth than any humans ever have. The astronauts – NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen – also witnessed sights of the moon's far side never seen with the unaided eye during a historic lunar flyby April 6.

Trump spoke to Artemis II crew after lunar flyby. What did he say?

The meeting won't be the first time the Artemis II crewmates cross paths with the president.

The astronauts were at Trump's State of the Union speech at the end of February, and the president also called them from Earth after they completed the historic lunar flyby six days into their mission.

During that brief conversation, which occurred as the astronauts were still aboard the Orion capsule preparing for a lengthy journey back to Earth, Trump congratulated the spacefarers for making history and invited them to the White House.

"You've made history and made all America really proud," Trump told the astronauts. "America is a frontier nation, and the four brave astronauts of Artemis II … really are modern-day pioneers."

More NASA moon missions planned under Trump's 2nd term

Established during Trump's first term, NASA's Artemis lunar program is the space agency's ambitious campaign to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo era came to an end in 1972.

Trump, who has often highlighted the importance of America's return to the moon under a reignited space race with China, has signaled that he wants to see a lunar landing occur before the end of his second term.

NASA's next human mission under the Artemis program, Artemis III, is slated for sometime in 2027. Instead of going near the moon, the mission will serve as a test flight in which a new crew of astronauts aboard an Orion capsule will dock in Earth orbit with at least one of the commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.

NASA is also paying for a series of commercial robotic landings to various regions of the moon to transport cargo and conduct science experiments before humans return.

The first human moon landing could then occur in 2028 during the Artemis IV mission, which would be the first of many astronaut ventures to the surface in the years ahead. NASA's ultimate objective is to construct a moon base on the south pole where astronauts could live and work as the agency prepares for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Some critical of proposed NASA budget cuts

But despite the renewed focus on lunar missions, not all have been pleased with how NASA has fared under Trump's leadership.

Trump's meeting with the Artemis II crew comes as the White House's proposed budget for NASA would again attempt to significantly slash funding to the agency, with most of the cuts targeting science programs. Congressional leaders previously rejected a similar proposal and opted to maintain NASA's funding.

The Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization that advocates for science and space exploration, has been one of the most vocal critics of the proposal, which leaders say would lead to the elimination of thousands of jobs. Famed science educator Bill Nye, the former CEO of the Planetary Society, on April 20 returned to Capitol Hill with other advocates to lobby congressional leaders to reject the latest proposal.

"Instead of celebrating Artemis II’s historic accomplishment, this proposal dismantles NASA," astrophysicist Asa Stahl, the Planetary Society's science editor, wrote April 13.

Contributing: Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]